Quest For
by NostalgicUniverse
Summary: A/U A/H Klaus M, a very successful businessman, has lost his wife Eden M one and a half years ago leaving him their daughter Hope Mikaelson. He is still struggling with the bitter sweet memories of their short one year marriage when Hayley Marshall enters his life. Will he be able to replace his wife with someone else? Will she be able to find what she is looking for in Klaus
1. Introduction

Klaus Mikaleson, a very successful businessman, has lost his wife Eden Mikaelsson one and a half years ago leaving him their daughter Hope Mikaelson. He is still struggling with the bitter sweet memories of their short one year marriage, when Hayley Marshall, enters his life causing a kind of upheaval that he never expected, a desire to fill an empty space in his heart, a desire that he thought he had lost when Eden left him. Will he be able to replace his wife with someone else? Will Klaus and Hope be people who will fill her empty life, help her find what she is looking for? Will she help him forget his wife, help herself able to trust someone after being deceived so badly in past by someone very close to her?

 _ **A/N:**_ _This will be slow update since I am swamped with personal responsibilities but I really really wanted to write this story. I hope you like it and I hope I am able to finish it. It has been a while I have written anything so I am a bit hesitant on how I am going to translate my thoughts on the paper. Leave me your comments to tell what do you think about it. As of now this is not supposed to be a long story but you never know. Please give me a few days to start uploading. I have written two chapters and will upload them as soon as I can. Until then tell me what do you think will happen. :)_


	2. Prologue

A shrilly sound woke him up from an already restless sleep. For a moment he continue to stare at the ceiling with bland eyes and then he started to recall everything that had happened mere hours ago and a frown appeared on his forehead. The shrilly sound was continuing in the background. Realizing that it was his cell he absentmindedly reached for it, put it against his ear and muttered "hello"

"Is it Mr. Mikaelson?" a female voice asked

"yes" he rubbed his eyes.

"Mr. Mikaelson I am calling from Central Medic in New York. I …."

He sat up in confusion, picked up the fifty thousand dollar Rolex from the bedside table. Glancing at it, realizing that it was two in the morning the dread in the pit of his stomach intensified. Despite the call at the odd time, despite the intensified dread his mind again drifted to the events of the evening and the voice on the other side of the phone became hazy. Eden! Suddenly he wanted her back, back in his life, back in his bed but how was that possible now after what she had done. He squeezed his eyes shut in anguish.

"I am sorry what did you say?" he asked when he realized that the person on the other end was saying something.

His mind vaguely registered to the earth shattering information given to him by the stranger on the other end. Knowing that he should be saying something but what? What do you say when someone tells you that the wife who deceived you, who was alive a few hours ago had died? But he had to say something so he said "Thanks for letting me know. I will see to it" and put the phone down slowly. He sat there for a few minutes staring at the wall opposite the bed. Whatever happened between him and Eden this was never what he wanted for her. She was only twenty two years old. How could this have happened? He got up from the bed and his feet took him automatically to the adjoining room. He stared in the darkness still unable to believe what he had heard. Eden dead!

Few minutes later he opened the door to the room opposite his room and entered the softly lit room. With heavy heart he walked to the white crib set near the window. He looked down at the small bundle swaddled in a pink swaddle. He gently touched her chest as if that will induce some kind of hope in him. The gentle, rapid butterfly heartbeats, for some reason made his already heavy heart heavier. Getting angry and confused at himself for feeling shattered at the loss of the woman who had deceived him, he picked up his daughter who squirmed in her sleep but he held her close to his chest calming her down. He went to sit on the nursing chair and cuddled her. He could still feel warmth of Eden's lithe body on the nursing chair, her soft perfume in the air. Was it just yesterday morning that she was sitting here nursing Hope? Was it just yesterday when he had found those pictures? Recalling her unsuccessful attempts to convince him that she was innocent when those pictures spoke otherwise brought bile in his mouth but still his heart was being shattered at the thought that she was gone. Even the small possibility that with her the humiliation she had caused him and his family especially Hope will be gone too was not making him feel better. What was left was for sure was anger and regrets and a desire to protect his daughter from any scandal that her mother brought in her life. He will do anything in his life to protect Hope from her mother's bad decisions. Why was he feeling that way? Love! How could he have fallen in love with her? When did that happen when he didnt have the capacity to fall in love? But he had and she broke him. After everything that had happened between them how could he still feel so shattered at her _death_? Did he still love her? No. That was not possible! Thankfully she never found out. Thankfully she never knew that he was hopelessly in love with her. She was gone. She was not worth remembering after everything she had done to him but how was it possible? He knew that he will never forget her especially now that she has met her end like that. Was it her punishment for her crime against him and their daughter? No, she didnt deserve that. She was so young. How could he have thought that he would be able to simply write her out of his life just like that? She was a part of him not just because of Hope but also because even though she was his first love she has taught him one thing through her deception. She had taught him to fall in love but she had also taught him not to trust anyone let alone any woman ever again. No one needs to know that he loved his traitorous wife. No one needs to know that he was weak enough to fall in love with his wife. That will be his secret, his shame and his alone.

 ** _A/N: Tell me what do you think?_**


	3. No love lost

**_A/N: thanks for the warm welcome. I am touched. I hope this story turns out the way I am imagining it and you like it like you all liked my other stories. Guests thanks for the wonderful feedback and some good guesses too :)._**

 ** _Synopsis: While visiting his father at the hospital Klaus meets Hayley Marshall. Elijah and Klaus meet to discuss a business dealing._**

* * *

Taking a deep breath, she counted till ten, then picked up the cell phone "hello."

"hello" Hearing a gentle and caring voice after having such a disastrous encounter brought tears to her eyes. She gulped down the looming threat of tears in her throat and put a hand on her mouth so as to stop any sound coming out of her mouth. Gaining back her composure she said "hi Ansel. How are you?"

Ansel said "what happened? Did you get the job?"

She replied "no. I didn't. I am not fit for the job" bitterness lacing in her voice.

Ansel said soothingly "I am so sorry child. Do you want me to do something?"

"No. I have too much to lose. I umm… I am thinking of coming to Mystic Falls next week. Ansel…." unable to finish her sentence she stopped, took a deep breath and then asked "I dont want to lose her too but Ansel how will we do it?"

Ansel said "Just come here. Everything will be alright. Just think about your daughter and dont think about anything."

She said "thanks. I will see you next week then."

 ** _1st December, 2016 - Present day_**

"your floor, Mr. Mikaelson" a voice made him realize that he was again lost in his past. He gave the man standing next to him in the elevator a strained smile and stepped out saying "thanks." He pressed his fingers on his temple and continued towards his office. Stopping in front of his PA's desk he asked "Kara, is he here?"

Kara replied "yes Mr. Mikaelson, he had been waiting for you for the past half an hour."

Klaus entered his office ready to face Elijah Mikaelson, his brother for twenty five years. Remembering the last time he had seen him brought a bitter taste to his mouth. If that meeting was not important then he would gladly have continued to avoid Elijah just like he had been doing for last year and a half.

 ** _flashback_**

 ** _10th November, 2014_**

 _He stormed into the conference room not caring about the meeting in progress, ignoring Micheal, Elijah's PA protest, marched to the head of the table and ignoring Elijah's warm greeting punched him hard on the face sending him down on the carpet. Massaging his fist he was ready to punch him again as Elijah got up, brushed his clothes and said to the room full of executives "excuse us gentlemen" betraying any hint of an injury caused by Klaus._

 _Amongst the clatter caused by the people leaving the conference room he continued to glare at Elijah's confused stare wanting to smash that handsome face._

 _The moment the room got empty Elijah asked in shock and anger "what the hell was that Niklaus?"_

 _He barked "how can you look into my eyes and ask me that question Elijah? After everything you have done you are asking me all this?"_

 _Elijah continued in confusion "what are you talking about Niklaus?"_

 _"This!" he roared as he threw the pictures on the conference table._

 _Under his glare Elijah shifted his eyes from Klaus to those pictures and then all the blood drained from his body as he recognized himself in a compromising position with someone. Klaus continued to glare at him wanting to strangle him. Seeing shock and his pale parlor when he slowly picked up a picture gave him some savage satisfaction. Did he really think that he could get away with it? Why was he pretending to be shocked? Did he forget what he and Eden did? He advanced towards him and barked "do I need to explain my punch?"_

 _Elijah shuffled through the rest of the pictures in hurry, shock evident on his face and then in fury he thrust the picture at him asking "what is that Niklaus?"_

 _Klaus asked in fury grabbing Elijah from his collar "you tell me Elijah! What are you doing with my wife? When did … " he was so angry that foam was coming out of his mouth and at that moment he didnt even care what would happen to him if he killed Elijah._

 _Elijah interrupted as he pushed Klaus away from him "Niklaus!"_

 _Klaus snapped, so angry that it was difficult to utter words but he said savagely "Elijah, dont act dumb. I cannot believe it. You are my brother. Granted Eden and I were not conventional husband wife but that did not give you right to… "_

 _Again he was interrupted by Elijah saying angrily "Niklaus shut up. She is my sister."_

 _"I hope you dont do this to Rebekah" Klaus violently picked up another picture from the table and stuck it under his nose only to receive a punch on his face by Elijah._

 _"I would never, never …How can y…. Shame on …" in anger he couldnt utter a complete sentence. Finally he managed to contain himself "how can you?! She is your wife!"_

 _but then his eyes went back to the photo in his hand and he stared at it and then muttered "it is not possible. hmmm." Scratching his chin he continued to look at it and then as if light bulb switched on and he muttered "someone photoshopped it…"_

 _"come on Elijah!" Klaus snapped while pacing the room. "You are naked with her. That is Eden. I know that is her! And you know it too. How can you act as if ..."_

 _Eljiah said angrily cutting him off "have you lost your mind?_ _If you can think of this about her and me Niklaus then you dont deserve her. She loves you and you know that."_

 _"Loves me? Loves me Elijah. If she loves me, this… this….this is not a lie. This is concrete." he looked at the picture again and then grabbed his hairs and gritted in a final tone "we are done Elijah. You and I are done. I knew you liked her but this... You shoudnt have done this!"_

 _"Niklaus listen. This photo someone … this is photoshopped. I … I will never do something like this with Eden. Let me get some experts and see this …" but Klaus was not listening to him anymore. His explanation not making any sense to him so he turned and stalked out of the room ignoring Elijah's Nikalus!"_

 ** _end flashback_**

He said "hello Elijah" determined to keep his tone devoid of any emotions.

Elijah looked up and stared at the person who had been his brother until a few years ago, his friend, his only ally. Seeing the determined lines on his face he took a deep breath and continued "mother is not feeling well and she wishes to see you."

Klaus picked up the file Kara had placed on his table and said without looking towards him "I will visit over the weekend Elijah."

After a short pregnant silence Elijah asked "Niklaus lets …."

"Elijah, lets not" Klaus said not looking towards him.

"Niklaus it has been more than a year now. How long will you continue to live like this? You should forgive and forget and try to move on with your life with Hope." Elijah continued.

"As long as I am alive I cannot forgive and forget Elijah. The day I die that will eventually happen" he picked up the file on the table trying to suppress the regrets and depression that was invading his heart. He closed his eyes for a second trying to forget Eden's begging him 'Niklaus please! Where will I go? What about Hope? Please…I am sorry I ignored her. I promise I will not do it again. Please Niklaus… I would never do what you are saying. You just want to punish me. I am sorry'

He moved behind the desk saying "lets discuss this Malache O'Connell proposal."

Looking at the determination on his face Elijah sighed and moved to his desk to discuss the proposal.

Half an hour later, he leaned back in his chair closing the file satisfied with his discussion with Elijah. Elijah leaned back in his chair and asked "how is Hope?" showing no sign of wanting to leave.

Klaus stood up, went to the cabinet and poured himself a glass of a thousand dollar bottle of wine, gulped it down and then said "she is fine."

"and Ansel?" Elijah continued deliberately not taking any hint from him.

The pregnant silence spoke for itself but he wanted to hear him say something, anything, as long as he talked to him.

"The doctors are not really hopeful" at last he replied.

"Is he still at the hospital?" Elijah asked.

This time he turned around staring at the liquid in his hand and continued "yes."

Elijah continued "I am so sorry Nik…" only to be interrupted by Klaus blandly saying "I have a lot of work to do and then go to the hospital so …" leaving rest of sentence unspoken

Elijah continued to look towards him for a minute and then with a sigh got up, said "mother will be expecting you over the weekend" before turning and leaving him alone with his painful memories.

* * *

She was looking at the man lying on the bed thinking about her life, thinking about the suffering he was going through, thinking about his family who hated her, hated their relationship, thinking about Klaus whose hate she couldnt understand when he didnt even know her, Caroline whose jealousy towards her relationship with her stepfather when she herself had the same relationship. Why wouldnt these people want someone else to be friends with their father? She wondered. She startled when a voice asked her "has loved died, Hayley?"

She smiled, took his hand and pressed it gently and said "he was never meant to be mine Ansel" while her heart took a swan dive at his question.

His eyes now opened searched her face, looking for signs, any sign that could show him a promise towards a future that he so desperately wanted her to have. "I wish to see you happy before…"

Not wanting to hear what he was going to say she said "dont talk like that. You will get better Ansel. I believe in medical science."

Ansel smiled and replied "child, I have come to terms with my illness. I have lived my life to fullest. Have seen the next generation, a promise to the future. I am worried about you Hayley."

Trying to control her tears which were looming at the base of her throat all the time these days she said "I don't want to lose you."

"No one is losing anyone" a harsh voice said from the door. She jumped and hastily looked around. Her heart started to pound against her ribs like it always did seeing him.

"Niklaus, come. Sit." Ansel said and then bend over to start coughing.

He walked towards the bed and said coldly "father you should be resting instead of _entertaining_."

She looked at him resentfully and then picked up the glass of water from the bedside table and handed it to Ansel.

Ansel sighed after drinking the water and said to Klaus "I am resting. Hayley is just visiting. Her visits make my day."

He turned towards Hayley. Looked her from top to bottom and said coldly "hello Ms. Marshall."

She said coldly now that she had composed herself "Mr. Mikaelson."

Ansel looked from Klaus to Hayley and asked "how is Hope?"

He replied dryly "she is same as she was when you asked last time."

Hayley looked at him getting angrier by the minute at his indifference and cold attitude. She turned to Ansel and said "I will visit tomorrow Ansel." Out of habit she leaned in and kissed his sunken cheek and then left the room without glancing towards Klaus even once.

Ansel continued to look towards Klaus as he saw Hayley exiting with a deep frown on his face. He coughed and said "Niklaus, I want to talk to you about Hope."

He sighed and turned to him, rubbing the back of his head "she is fine father."

He said "Niklaus children can grow up with nannies. It is parents that they need."

Klaus said bitterly "she has me father."

"you know what I mean Niklaus." he said tiredly and pushed the button that set his bed down.

Klaus said "you should rest father. I will come again tomorrow."

He continued to look at his father as he closed his eyes, fixed the blanket and then he walked to the window, looked at the rain broodingly for the next few minutes and then with a sigh left the room.

The drive to Haven seemed longer than usual but he didnt mind driving today, his heart heavy with the discussion he had with his father's doctor about the prognosis of the decease, his unfriendly banter with Ms. Marshall and to be source of unhappiness to his father. Wondering why he hated Ms. Marshall so much. Her stiff appearance bothered him. Maybe because her poise, that knee length fitted skirt and plain white shirt button to the collarbone reminded him of how Eden used to dress. Eden! He had been thinking about her a lot lately, he realized. And like every time regret closely followed by confusion and feeling of betrayal filled his heart. He didnt know when he reached the big wrought iron gates which swung open when he pressed the electronic button to open then. He parked his jaguar at its usual spot and sat there for a few moments staring into the void and then he got out and went towards the big oak door. The moment he walked in, he loosened his tie, gave the briefcase to the quietly looming butler and asked "has Hope gone to sleep?"

"yes sir. You are late again" Joseph asked softly with a hint of a complain in it which Klaus let slide with a indulgent smile. Being a butler since his childhood, moving from Mikaelsson Mansion to Haven when he moved here four years ago gave him right to express his deep rooted love for him along with the right to be annoyed at times too.

"I had to go to the hospital" he replied as he started towards the stairs.

Joseph asked "how is you father?"

"Hanging on" Klaus replied without turning towards Joseph regretting that he had missed Hope's bed time in a row now five days continuously. Feeling angry with himself he walked towards the nursery.

At the door he took a deep breath and entered the room. The curtains were still drawn. He walked to the toddler bed and looked at the little girl with tumble of brunette hair tumbling on her shoulder, her chest rising and falling, a giraffe tucked under her arm, her little fingers clutching the giraffe's legs. He continued to look at her and then sat down at the edge of the bed, fixed her blanket, bend and kissed her forehead, ruffled her curly hair back from her forehead and then with a sigh left the room.

The moment he closed the door behind him, Joseph who had followed him without him realizing it asked "you should freshen up sir. Dinner is ready."

"I am not hungry Joseph. You should retire. I am off to bed too" He replied loosing his tie further as if it was strangling him unable to keep his father's withering face out of his sight.

Feeling mentally exhausted he had his hand on door handle of his own door when the door next to nursery opened and a women with beautiful blond hair came out tying her robes as if she just came out of bed. Their eyes met and he asked warily "what are you doing up so late Caroline?"

"Oh I couldn't sleep. Hope was running a bit of fever so just wanted to make sure she was fast asleep before I tucked myself in" she replied.

Klaus asked worriedly "fever? Why was I not informed?"

"She is fine now Klaus. It was just a hundred. Nothing too serious. There was no need to worry you when you had that O'Conell project to deal with at the office."

"Regardless of what everyone thinks nothing is more important to me than my family Caroline and you know it. If something like that happens again you will make sure to tell me regardless of where I am." He replied with a steel in his voice. "Anyhow how is she now?"

"Better. I gave her some tylenol" she replied. After a second she asked "how was dad today?"

He said "not good. the doctors are not very hopeful. When did you visit him? He would like to see you."

"I know. I will visit him tomorrow." She walked to him, rubbed his arms soothingly saying "Klaus we have known it for a while now. I think we should get ready for the worst."

Klaus said "I cannot Caroline. I have just found him. I just cannot. Four years are not enough. I…." he stopped talking suddenly realizing that he had revealed a lot about himself to Caroline. He removed her hand from his arm and wondering at his behavior started towards his room not seeing the speculative look in Caroline eyes.

"Was she there?" her voice stopped him at the landing.

Without turning back and without pretending that he didnt know what she was talking about, he said bitterly "yes she was."

Caroline stormed towards him and asked "how can you trust her to be around him Klaus. I am telling you she is up to something. Her visits have increased since Ansel has taken ill…."

He snapped "do you honestly think that I dont know all of this?" And then without waiting for her reply he stormed in his room.

Klaus laid on the bed and continued to stare at the ceiling unable to stop thinking about Hayley Marshall.

 ** _flashback_**

 ** _15th November, 2015_**

 _His steps slowed down as he was climbing down the stairs when he saw his father entering the house "come Hayley."_

 _He continued to climb down and stopped at the bottom stair as his gaze took in the young brunette with green eyes standing close to his father. For a moment he thought he has lost his mind and he was seeing a ghost- a ghost of Eden. A shiver ran through his body. There was something about that face that reminded him of Eden yet she was not her. Was he now starting to look for her in every brunette's._

 _Seeing the distance between his father and the girl, he tensed and then walked towards them._

 _Ansel said "Niklaus this is Hayley Marshall. She is my new PA. Hayley meet my son Niklaus."_

 _Hayley held out her hand and said "hello."_

 _He shook his head to stop thinking about Eden. This was Hayley Marshall. And who was she? There was something about her and his father demeanor that he couldnt put his finger on. For a moment questions and suspicions about their relationship stirred in his mind but he dismissed them considering that girl was old enough to be his daughter._

 _"Ms Marshall" as he extended his hand towards her. Was it his imagination or did he really see panic in her eyes? Must be his imagination because on second glance the panic was not there, just indifference. The moment their hands met he felt a current run through him. Before he could say anything a voice called him "Klaus where are you going? Hope is crying."_

 _He continued to look into those green eyes not knowing what he was looking for but said softly without turning "Care, you can handle her. I am going out" and left the room after snatching his hands from Ms Marshall's soft grasp._

 ** _end flashback_**

He punched his pillow and closed his eyes but couldn't sleep so he got up, put on his robes which was lying at the foot of the bed and went to Hope's room. He settled down in the chair at the corner of the room, stretched his legs and closed his eyes. Before he knew it he had gone to sleep with green eyes staring at him angrily only to be awoken by sound of the cell phone that had brought on this dread in his life.

* * *

In a small but barren room in an apartment building not far from Haven, Hayley took off her earrings, washed her face and shed her clothes with a heavy heart thinking about Ansel and his deteriorating health, Klaus and why he was so cold towards his daughter. To relieve herself of the tension looming in her shoulders she walked to the bathroom, filled the tub, poured relaxing body bath in and slipped in the warm water. She rested her head at the edge of the tub and closed her eyes as she slipped her body under the water. When the water started to cool, she came out and then wrapped herself in a white towel and continued to look at her image and then went to lie on the bed again plagued by the conversation with Ansel and Klaus. The moment her head hit the pillow, sleep took over and she went to sleep.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Things will start to unfold more and more as we progress. Did Klaus make a mistake with Eden? What did Eden do that she needed forgiveness from Klaus? Why was she ignoring Hope? Some relationships that have been introduced- the nature of those relationships will be discussed in future chapters :) but can you guess what their nature from the information given in this chapter? I hope you like this chapter and it is not too confusing._**


	4. At the end of line

**_A/N: Thank you for the wonderful reviews. Interesting guesses. Clavel thanks for the advice and pretty crazy if what you are saying happens. Yes I am writing coz I feel like writing right now._**

 ** _Synopsis: Hayley starts to think about a future with no Ansel in it. Klaus also tries to come to term with his father's illness._**

* * *

Hayley woke up next morning, groaned realizing that it was already seven, stretched her arms to relieve herself of the tension in her shoulders that was still there even after having a full seven hour sleep and then focusing on her day routine she got up, quickly took a shower, dressed in dress pants and a white plain shirt, carefully applied her makeup, grabbed a dry toast and headed out. Half an hour later she walked towards Ansel's room looking at her watch realizing that she has only half an hour before going to her job. He was as expected up, eating his breakfast. A smile appeared on his lips as their eyes met. She said "you look good today" as she walked towards him.

"You mean I was not looking good yesterday" he asked feigning surprise.

Hayley laughed "you know what I mean. How are you feeling today?"

"much better. I dont feel sick at all. I am thinking of going home" Ansel said putting his juice glass on the tray.

"No. You cannot go home. You have to stay here. Definitely you will get better care here" she said forcefully.

"I would rather die at home, in my bed he said wistfully.

Hayley said "why are you talking like that? You will be alright."

"Hayley, will you talk to him?" he asked

"whom?" she asked warily even though she had an idea.

He said "Niklaus. I cannot go through this again. The doctors gave me five years when I was first diagnosed with this disease and I was determined to fight it back then and I did. I went through surgery, chemo and radiotherapy and it was in remission for ten years. I beat the odds by five years. Now that it is back, it has come back with vengeance." He smiled softly and continued "maybe it felt cheated and wants to strike back with full force but the thing is that I dont want to go through that horrible procedure again. I want to die with dignity, among my family members on a regular day drinking tea, chatting with them instead of lying on this pathetic bed counting my days. No. I want to go home. Talk to Niklaus. He was not with me when I was first diagnosed so he does not understand what this disease and the fight with it took from me. He does not know what I had to go through during the chemotherapy or the days when I couldnt even get out of bed, was not even able to go to the bathroom, drink water or keep my food down. No. I cannot go through with it again Hayley but Niklaus… He is being pigheaded. Just like his mother." He sighed and then continued again "Even the doctors dont see any hope but he is just being stubborn."

It took all of her willpower to keep her tears at bay as she recalled those terrible months when Ansel was going through that treatment but she couldn't just let him give up so she started "I was only sixteen but I remember Ansel. I saw you fight with it then and you can fight now too…." only to be interrupted by his stern voice "no. I have said no. I don't want to go through the surgery and chemo again! You talk to him."

Hayley was quiet for a moment and then she said restlessly to cover her impending anxiousness about facing Klaus "this is not fair Ansel. You know how much he hates me. Why would he listen to me?" she said in frustration.

"he does not hate you. He does not _know_ you. How can he hate you when he does not even _know_ you? As for why I am asking you is because coming from someone who is not my doctor or his own father, it will probably give him a different point of view" he said "In any case I am getting myself discharged next week but I would rather that I do it with him understanding why I am doing this. No one can force me to do what I dont want to do" he added adamantly.

She smiled at his stubbornness and said "you are wrong you know."

"About what?" he asked in the same annoyed voice as he received a kiss from her.

"He is not like his mother. He is just like you. Stubborn and pigheaded. You look tired so you rest. I have to go my job now" and then added with longing "I miss my job as your PA."

Seeing the annoyed look on his face she continued indulgently "you know Ansel I had to take this job. I cannot continue to get paid for something I am not doing. Already your son thinks that I am a gold-digger. I promise when you get better I will be back to full time PA. Now you take care and rest and I will visit tomorrow."

"Hayley talk to Niklaus" he said as she reached the door.

Hayley sighed too before turning back to see his adamant face and then said "alright I will" and left.

Twenty minutes later she was wearing a black pant and blue shirt was passing orders to the customers in Pancake hut, a restaurant downtown, with her mind racing with what Ansel had said and the insecurities of what will happen if Ansel dies. She couldnt continue to work as a waitress all her life. She only got this job so that if she had to leave it when Ansel will feel better she can go back to being his PA but what if…. She couldnt let herself finish her disturbing thoughts. One thing she knew by the end of her shift was that she has to start looking for a better job if she wanted to keep her apartment. Her savings were not going to last forever.

* * *

It was mid-day and he had just entered his office after having a conference call with his team in California. He went to sit behind his desk, glanced at Kara as she entered just after him with a cup of coffee in her hand. As she retreated quietly after putting a file on the table he picked up his coffee cup while eying the file moodily. His mind on the conversation he had overheard while going to the conference room. It was not the first time that he had heard speculations about the nature of relationship between his father and his PA, Hayley Marshall. What annoyed him most was that he knew for a fact that there was nothing intimate happening between her and his father but still hearing people speculating about their relationship in that way just bring forward bile in his mouth. It was all about money he was certain about that. She was another gold-digger like Eden and wanted to extract some money from his father by cashing onto her friendship with him. Eden!

 ** _Flashback September 2013_**

 ** _(three years ago)_**

 _"it will be a business contract Mr. Mikaelson and nothing else. I am not looking for love and I know for a fact that you are not either" Eden's soft voice reached his ears._

 _"What will you get out of this Ms. Sanderson?"_

 _"Money. What else?" she replied casually._

 _"And may I ask for how much are you selling yourself for?" he asked cynically._

 _He got some satisfaction seeing the spark of anger in her eyes but they were gone in a second causing a kind of disappointment._

 _"five million."_

 _"I didnt know you came this cheap"_

 _"what price I put on myself is not your concern. Do we have a deal?"_

 ** _end flashback_**

"At least she was upfront and you knew what you were getting into but this Hayley Marshall!" a voice said. He shook his head and tried to concentrate on present. He opened the file and after going through the information Kara had compiled, he connected to Kara and said "connect me to Dr Elias Theodore."

Without waiting for her reply he put the phone down. Damn him. He will get the surgery, that arrogant father of his!

* * *

Rebekah hurriedly washed her face when she heard her cell ringing. She came out of the bathroom and picked up her cellphone and said "hello."

"Where have you been? I have been trying to call you for the past two days" came the sound of her best friend Camille.

She smiled and continued "me? It is you who had disappeared on all of us. Has your masters finally finished?" as she headed towards her room

Camille's laugh made her smile too. At least she had started to laugh now. "yes it has."

She asked "so when are you coming back?"

"I am back and I was thinking of coming over before joining the office."

"Great. Come over. It will be like old times."

"How is Klaus?" came the question she had been expecting since she had heard Camille's voice.

"He is…. well he is single again. That much you know" Rebekah replied with a frown on her forehead "but his father is not really well these days."

"Oh what happened?"

"His cancer is back" Rebekah replied as she plopped on her bed with the book in her hand.

"Oh that is so bad. He must be really upset about it."

"Yeah he is. It is a shame that he finally got to meet his biological father and he is so sick you know" Rebekah replied.

She continued "but your coast is clear now, right?"

Camille said sounding outrageous "how can you say that Rebekah? I never wanted Eden to die."

Rebekah rolled over on her stomach and picked up her novel from the side table and continued "oh I know that. But now he is free and you can finally make your move. And you should do it n the first available chance you know. He is quite a catch. If he is still single after almost two years of Eden's death then that is by his own design and not because he is short of options. How long will you keep your love for him secret Camille?"

Camille said "you know it was a mistake telling you."

"you didnt tell me. It was written all over your face. I read it when you were fourteen" Rebekah said causally "and I saw you broken up when he married Eden."

Camille said in an annoyed voice "I was not broken up. I was upset but not broken up."

"Yes keep on telling yourself that" Rebekah continued in the same tone as she flipped through the magazine. "Anyway I am just giving you heads up. Don't come crying to me if he gets hitched again."

"Some friend you are!"

"Best friend and that is why I am telling you how things are. SO when are you coming? We need to work on a plan to get my best friend and my brother together. It will be quiet romantic you know. A girl secretly in love with her best friend's brother for twelve years finally getting him." She sighed and continued "I wonder when will I find mr. right!"

Camille laughed again and continued "you know he and daddy are going into a new business venture together."

"Really! That is interesting" Rebekah said excitedly.

"I dont know the details yet. I have to go now. Daddy is calling me and I am coming next weekend" Camille said hurriedly and disconnected the call before she could say anything.

Rebekah smile and continued to flip through the magazine after dropping the phone on the bed.

* * *

For the next few days Klaus was really busy juggling his business meetings, making sure that the plan for the new business he was setting up with O'Connell and Elijah was unfolding smoothly, visiting his father, finding a way to persuade him to go to Sweden to get his surgery done but all efforts were going wasted. At night when he would lie down at bed, thoughts about Eden will invade his mind only to be invaded by Hayley's just before he would drift to sleep and every morning when he would get up with a strong desire to see her and be surprised that he had actually missed seeing her green eyes and hearing acid drip from her tongue during this past week. Strangely neither did his father bring her up during any of his trips. Was she avoiding him? He wondered. Was she even visiting his father?

* * *

Hayley hurried towards Ansel's ward cursing for being late. As per Amanda, Ansel's nurse, Klaus visited his father at eight am every day but she was running behind and it was already quarter to eight. She wished from the bottom of her heart that she does not meet him and succeed in avoiding him like she had been doing the past week. She cursed again as she opened her purse to take out Ansel's favorite opera's ticket as she practically ran towards the ward and then she winced as she came head on head with a hard body knocking her purse to the ground. She bend down to retrieve it saying "I am sorry I …" when a hand stretched before her handing her her fallen lipstick. She knew that hand so well, she gulped and cursed inwards at her timings before shifting her eyes to the face belonging to that hand and took the lipstick from his hand without even glancing towards it. Gathering her wits she got up and asked after peeking at the empty room "where is he?"

"hello to you too Ms. Marshall" he sneered.

She sighed and said "hi" as she looked around to locate a nurse to find out about the whereabouts of Ansel.

"What do you want from my father ?" she turned to him when the question was thrown at him.

"His money" she replied casually without any pretense of not understanding what he was asking while continuing to look for the nurse.

A nerve ticked at his jaw as he said "That much I know but what else?" he gritted.

"Why dont you ask your father that Mr. Mikaelson?" she asked finally turning towards him.

He said "trust me as long as I am alive you can not extract a single penny from my father."

"If I decide to I will make sure that he leaves nothing to you" she resorted angrily and started to turn away from him when he grabbed her arm and said "you are trying my patience with you!"

"what patience? You have made it very clear from the start how much you hate me without getting to know me. I dont see any signs of patience!" she answered.

Klaus pulled her close to him and said "I know women like you. Gold-digger, no good…."

"like your wife?" she sneered daringly looking into his eyes cutting into his sentence.

He gritted controlling his desire to strangle her "dont you dare bring her into this conversation!"

"why not? Whats so special about her? Didnt you once ….." she asked in the same tone.

He snapped again "stop right there before I…" took a deep breath, gritted his teeth again and continued in a much calmer tone "leave my father alone."

"I love your father and he loves me. I will never leave him especially in this condition of his" she said after taking a deep breath.

Hearing declaration of love from her mouth for his father confirmed the rumors he didnt want to believe. He glared at her in confusion since her admission didnt make any sense to him.

"Oh Hayley, Niklaus when did you come?" they both turned towards Ansel's voice when they heard him and at the same time Hayley felt Klaus loosening his grip on her arm.

She hurried towards Ansel, composing herself and took his arm, walking with him back to his room saying "oh I just came. Mr. Mikaelson and I were just talking about Hope" glancing towards Klaus giving him a tight-lipped smile and then she walked past him knowing well that Ansel will start grilling him about Hope now.

Klaus in the mean while was seething in anger at the coziness visible between Ansel and Hayley. All the feelings he was having about her when he had missed her during the last week went out of window to be replaced by intense loathing. He followed them in the room and asked rather crossly "how are you feeling father?"

Hayley helped Ansel in the bed with the nurse's help.

Ansel said calmly "I am fine. You tell me how is Hope now."

Klaus counted till ten before answering "she is fine. Caroline said she will visit you today."

Was it his imagination or he actually saw Hayley stiffening at the name of Caroline. Deciding that it really happened he continued "she wanted to come yesterday but Hope is still not feeling well so she stayed with her. She has grown really close to Caroline more than Nessa. I never imagined Care to be such a loving mothering nature" He continued in the same voice.

Before she could stop herself she asked "what…. ummm what happened to Hope?" while she gave Ansel an accusatory glance for not telling her what happened to the little girl.

Klaus glanced towards her with disdain and then to his father he deliberately continued "Father I have to leave for California today. Lucien is getting married" without replying to Hayley.

"But your daughter is sick…" again before she could stop herself she answered.

He turned towards her now bodily and continued "are you by any chance suggesting that I am not a good father Ms. Marshall?"

The iciness in his tone froze her but she said keeping her voice calm "No I didnt mean that. I just…"

"You just what?" ignoring his father cough.

"I think you should be staying with your daughter" Hayley said boldly this time.

"How would you know how to take care of a child Ms. Marshall seeing that you are single" he said.

She gasped and then said softly "well being a mother I know a lot about children." Taking his eyes off of him, she bend down, kissed Ansel and said "Happy birthday Ansel. This is for you. I know you love it. It is next month. Plenty of time for you to get better. We can go together when you get better. I will see you tomorrow" handling him the tickets, she left without giving Klaus a second glance.

The moment she left Ansel said "you are wrong about Hayley, Niklaus."

"I don't want to talk about her father" wondering 'mother? She is a mother? Where is her child? Is she married too? Questions that he had never wondered about her started to bombard his mind. Where is the father? Has he left her and taken the child with him? What was about her that impacted his libido despite his intense feelings towards her. Something that had never happen since Eden!' The revelation just shook him. He shook his head, groaned, looked towards his father who was looking at him with a speculative look. He said "you should rest father."

Ansel nodded and closed his eyes, tiredness etched on his face.

Klaus continued to look towards his withering face again wondering about his desire to not go through the treatment again. Was he being selfish to him? Making him go through the pain of treatment again? He turned towards the door when it opened and Dr. Sanders came in. He said "Mr. Mikaelson, how are you?" as he picked up his father's chart.

One glance at his father told him that he has already drifted off to sleep. Maybe the walk was too much. He replied "I am good."

Dr. Sanders nodded and when he was done he motioned Klaus to walk towards the window. As they both reached there he continued in a quieter tone "have you thought about what I told you yesterday?"

"I have. I think it would be best if he goes though this surgery and the chemo. There are chances. There is an oncologist in Sweden. Dr Elias."

"Yes I know him. He is really good in cases this advance as your father's but you must remember that even after the surgery there is no guarantee. Cancer has spread. At the end of the day all we can do is to keep him comfortable and he has expressed his wish to go home several times." Doctor Sander looked at him and said consolingly.

Klaus was quiet for a moment and then nodded without uttering another word. Doctor Sander said "alright. I will see you tomorrow. Good day" as he departed the room leaving him alone with his thoughts.

After a while he too left the room.

He walked towards the parking lot thinking about Dr. Elias and his conversation with Dr. Sanders. Absently he opened the car door when he saw her standing near her jaguar staring into the void. He shook his head in annoyance and started to slide into the driving seat but something on her face caught his attention; it was a look of utter desperation. He continued to look at her for a few seconds and then with a determination he snapped his car door shut and headed towards her.

Hayley startled when she heard the most unwelcome familiar voice asking "upset that he is still alive?"

She spun towards him and snapped "what is your problem? He is your father."

"Yes he is and that is why I will do anything to protect him especially from a gold digger like you" remembering the coziness and the conversation he had had overhead about her and his father made him snarled.

She stared at him for a moment as if deciding something and then said "look Mr. Mikaelson, you have got it all wrong…"

but he cut her off by saying "I dont think so. I just want you to tell me what do you need to get out of my father's life ."

Hayley shook her head and started to open her car door but he snapped it shut by pressing his hand on the window of the door and stepped towards her saying "your price Ms. Marshall? I know there must be price to your desires."

"you arrogant piece of…."

"tuck tuck Ms. Marshall! Such language! What would my father think of you if he hears you talking like that?"

"He will pat me on my back for telling you what an arrogant twit you are."

"you little…" it took all his will power to stop himself from saying something that would ruin his purpose. He made an unsuccessful attempt at controlling his anger before he continued again

"Ms. Marshall my father…."

She cut him off by saying "your father wants to spend his last days at home with his granddaughter and…" she paused to gulp down the heavy feeling in her throat thinking of Ansel's illness and impending ending but she continued as per her promise with Ansel "he does not want to go through the surgery and he wants you to back off from pestering him."

"he needs to go through with this surgery Ms. Marshall" he replied keeping his voice calm.

"He does not want to go through that suffering again. He wants to go home Mr. Mikaelson. It is his right to spend his last days how he wants to" she continued even though her heart was crushing at the impending outcome of Ansel's disease.

"and who are you…" but she cut him off again because she knew he would say something mean to her "he asked me to talk to you since he knows that you will never listen to him. Grant him his last wish" her voice filled with bitterness.

"He can fight it!" he said harshly.

Hayley continued to look towards him for a moment and then said "you are right." paused for a moment and then continued as if thinking about his decision "I know what you mean. I am just doing what he asked me to do even though I knew you will never listen to anyone but I am glad we talked about it. Now I have to leave" and then without waiting for response she opened the car door with a jerk forcing him to step back. Klaus continued to look towards the back of the car as he saw the car drove away. He stood there for a moment and then went to sit in his car too seething in anger at Hayley for bringing up Eden in their conversation and talking about his father as if he didnt care about him at all. Does she really think that he will let his father die without a fight? Does she think that she can get hold of his money the quicker he dies? Over my dead body. He said to himself as he started the car. But was he being selfish in wanting his father to go through the procedure. Damn it! He can fight it. " _He does not want to go through that suffering again. He wants to go home Mr. Mikaelson. It is his right to spend his last days how he wants to"_ her voice echoed in his mind.

"Caroline you didnt go to visit father in the hospital again?" he asked Caroline as he sat down for dinner later that day.

"I was going to but Hope was being cranky and was not willing to stay with Nessa. I will visit him tomorrow." She said as she settle down next to him and set Hope down in her highchair.

"hmm…" he said as he started to eat and then said to the maid who had brought in Hope's food.

"Martha clean father's room and make sure he has everything available to him" Klaus said.

"why Klaus?" Caroline asked after she left.

"I am getting father home day after tomorrow." He said while he started to climb the stairs towards Hope's room.

"but why? Will he not get the surgery? Have you decided to give in? " she asked following him.

"He does not want to go through the surgery and the treatment. Dr Sanders too thinks that this procedure will only bring more pain and suffering to him so yes I am granting his last wish. All we can do right now is keep him comfortable" he continued.

"Oh…I am sorry Klaus" Caroline said. "oh no…" she continued in distress as tears fell from her eyes "is there nothing they can do Klaus?"

"yes they can start the treatment but at this stage cancer is spread and there is no guarantee" he said bitterly and continued eating his food while listening to Hope's chatter.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Hope you liked it. I am not too happy with it hence it took many days. Cannot put my finger on what is missing though.**_


	5. Past meets present

**_A/N: Thanks for wonderful comments. Kath why Eden married Klaus, it is a bit complicated but yes she told him that she was marrying him for money. You might understand her motives better after reading this chapter. Why Klaus married her, you will find in this chapter too. Why Klaus is bitter will be revealed gradually or perhaps that too in this chapter? Klaus relationship with Caroline will be cleared in this chapter too as well as Hayley's and Ansel. Hope you like this chapter too._**

 ** _Synopsis: Ansel's gets his wish about going in peace. His will reveal some unexpected demands and distributions. Someone from Klaus's past comes back in his life. Hayley meets Klaus siblings._**

* * *

Ansel looked around the room feeling at home at last, at peace. He said "give her to me" to Caroline who was holding Hope.

Caroline crossed over the ancient plush rug and handed Hope to Ansel and stepped back. He smiled and continued "thank you Niklaus. This is the way to go. With the family and friends" his smiling eyes lingered to Hayley and rest of them.

Klaus continued to look towards him. There was a movement in his jaws as if he wanted to say something but then instead left the room.

Hayley's eyes met Ansel and she nodded saying "I will be back."

He was putting his shirt in the traveling bag when he heard a knock on his door. He said "come in".

A moment later he heard her say "thank you for doing this for him Mr. Mikaelson."

He turned towards her and asked "what are you doing in my room? How did you even know …." and then perhaps he realized that he was being unnecessary rude to her so he asked without looking towards her "Ms. Marshall, what do I owe this visit to?"

She looked at him packing his suitcase and asked "ummm Caroline told me about your room. Are you going somewhere?"

"Yes I have an urgent business to attend to" he said without looking towards her.

"But your father is ill. He just came home. Your daughter is sick…"

He turned towards her and said sternly "do not presume that I dont care about my father or my daughter Ms. Marshall."

She gulped down and surpassed the urge to kill him but then said "Mr. Mikaelson I… I know that you think that I am after something from you father but I just want…"

"what? What do you want Ms. Marshall?" he closed the distance between them by taking a few long strides "why are you even here?" his voice reducing to a whisper.

"I…. I just wanted …." she was unable to finish her sentence. They continued to look towards each other for a few seconds and then for the first time he noticed a thin line running near her hairline hidden by the hair like an old scar. He stared at it wondering how did he miss it and then something flashed across her face and he uttered "E…" but then stopped at once, shocked at what he was about to say. Something must have glanced in his eyes breaking the spell they were both bound for a minute and Hayley said "I dont believe that I have ever expressed my regrets at your father's health."

He continue to stare at her for a moment trying to figure out why she reminded him so much of Eden. Yes they were similarities but she was not Eden. That he was sure of. Eden had died. Damn it, why couldnt he forget her. He said softly, perhaps for the first time "thank you for your concern" wondering if the concern on her face was genuine or was she really a good actress and did he really see Eden in her at that moment?

They both turned towards the door when they heard Caroline say "I hope I am not interrupting anything."

He frowned hearing the coldness in Caroline's tone and wondering at it he looked towards her whereas Hayley said "no, i was just leaving." She paused for a moment and then asked "how is Hope today?"

"she is fine" she answered tartly.

Caroline continued to look towards Klaus as he watched Hayley leave the room. Feeling annoyed at the speculative look on his face she walked towards him and said "Klaus where are you going?"

Suddenly he erupted in anger "why is it suddenly every one's business to know where I am going?!" He shouted "Joseph!" and then stormed out of the room leaving her alone and bewildered at his outburst.

He had just reached the front door when the door opened and Elijah and Rebekah entered the house.

Elijah said "we went to visit Ansel at the hospital but were told that he was discharged today. Why didnt you tell us?"

"it was a last minute decision" as Klaus stepped forward and kissed Rebekah on her cheek.

"we wanted to see him" Rebekah said "and I am so sorry Nik" as she gently rubbed his arm.

"Come" ignoring the last part of her sentence he said as he guided them towards Ansel's room.

* * *

Hayley was sitting on a chair near Ansel's bed while Hope was cuddled in her arms fast asleep. while Ansel was observing her with a smile on his face.

 ** _Flashback Hayley_**

 ** _1st December, 2015_**

 _She looked around when a Caroline entered the room and stared at the little girl she was carrying. Dressed in a purple dress, sucking her thumb, a doll pressed in the nook of her arm she had her head resting on older girl's shoulder. A grim smile appeared on her face and she said "hello Ms. Marshall. Dad" she bend down and kissed Ansel's cheek depositing the girl in his lap saying "thank you for babysitting her. I will be back before he even finds out. Be good Hope." She patted the girl's cheek slightly and the continued "her diaper bag. Bottle, milk everything is in there. You can manage right?"_

 _"Of course I can. What do you think I am? You were only a year old when I married your mom. Didn't I raise you after that?" he asked in mock anger._

 _Caroline laughed and said "and you have done a pretty good job. You are the best father anyone could have asked for", squeezed his hand and then bidding Hayley good bye she left the room._

 _She continued to look hungrily at the girl snuggling shyly to Ansel. After a moment he asked "do you want to hold her while I go get some juice?"_

 _"yes" she said excitedly, her voice husky._

 _Ansel handed Hope to Hayley and went to the kitchen. As she felt the warm weight of Hope's body against her, she felt as if she lost all energy in her body. She hugged the baby tightly, unconsciously squeezing her, not wanting to separate her body with hers not realizing that she was scaring the baby who started to squirm in her arms. Feeling her squirm Hayley realized what she was doing. She loosened her hold on her small warm body but the damage was already done and the fat tears started to form in her eyes causing Hayley to panic. She hastily got up soothing the baby "hush baby. It is alright. You grand papa is coming in a minute." But Hope had decided that she didnt like her and burst into tears tearing Hayley's heart in two._

 ** _end flashback._**

She startled when the door opened and a young man entered the room with a pretty blond following him and Klaus tagging behind them. Their eyes met for a second before he stormed towards her and took Hope from her arms rather angrily shocking everyone in the room by his aggressive style.

Ansel said with a sigh "Oh Elijah, Rebekah come. Hayley I dont believe you have met Niklaus's brother and sister. Elijah Mikaelson and Rebekah" while Klaus walked to the door and said "Care, take Hope to her room. She has fallen asleep."

Hayley continued to stare at him angrily for a second and saw with resentment as Caroline took Hope from his arms, noticing the way her hand casually brushed against his arm. As he turned back towards her, she looked towards Elijah and Rebekah and said "sorry about that. Mr. Mikaleson does not like me. Hello."

Rebekah recovered first, walked to her before Klaus could say anything, shook her hand and said "it is nice to finally meet to Ms. Marshall. I have heard a great deal about you."

"Really? From whom? If it was from Mr. Mikaelson then I dont think anything good."

Rebekah gave a rather strained laugh trying to gauge if Hayley was joking but seeing the seriousness on her face she felt nervous but then said quickly seeing Klaus open his mouth "no. Actually it was Caroline. It is so nice to finally put a face against a name."

Hayley gave her restrained smiled and then looked towards Ansel and said "I see you have company now. I should be leaving now. I will see you tomorrow."

"Let me see you out Ms. Marshall" Elijah said as she stepped towards the door.

"Thank you. I can see myself out. You guys give Ansel company" she said smilingly and left the room without returning the angry glare she knew belonged to Klaus.

The moment she reached the front door a hand grabbed her arm and spun her towards him. Hayley yelped before she came face to face him. He asked angrily "who do you think you are? Don't you dare touch my daughter again. Do you understand?"

She continued to stare at him without saying a single thing for a few seconds and then said coldly "perfectly. Now let me go."

Klaus let go of her rather angrily causing her to stumble back. He fisted his hand when they impulsively tried to prevent her from falling.

Hearing Caroline ask him "what are you doing here Klaus?" made him realize that she had left. He spun around, looked towards her angrily and started towards upstairs when Caroline said "dad wants to see you."

"I was going there" he replied annoyingly thinking about how Elijah's gaze were fixed on Hayley. For some reason he didnt like that look in Elijah's eyes. A monster had reared deep in his heart and he wanted to kill Elijah. Last time he had felt that way was when he had seen those pictures of Elijah with Eden. Damn it! What is this girl doing to me. He grumbled as he headed towards his father's room.

Klaus entered his father's room and said "Caroline said you wanted to see me."

Ansel nodded and said "come. I want to talk to you about something important."

His sixth sense told him what was coming and he wanted to run away but a single 'coward' rooted his feet on the ground. He walked towards the chair Hayley was occupying a while ago. He could feel her warmth in the chair and smell of Gardenia. He looked around in confusion but then looked towards his father who said "Niklaus I know you are upset with me about my decision but what you have done for me I am so grateful and happy with you. I regret the years of your life I have missed. You would have been my joy and pride. I want you to know I am very proud of you and I want to thank you for… no let me say. To be there for me when I needed you. I know you didnt want to marry Eden but you did under those conditions. I am sorry for what happened between you and Eden but my son, she gave us Hope and for that she will hold a very special place in all of our hearts especially yours right?"

Klaus didnt know what to say as a strong pain had taken hold of his heart and something was squeezing it. He didnt know if it was Eden or his father's words.

 ** _Flashback Ansel_**

 ** _September, 2013_**

 _"You cannot do that James!" He said bewildered and shocked at what he was hearing._

 _"Watch me do it Ansel. I have been preparing for this moment for so long. You once took from me what was so important to me. Now it is my turn."_

 _"Amanda was broken …." but he was interrupted by James saying "she would have married me if you had kept your mouth shut. You broke our engagement. "_

 _"You were defrauding that charity and she deserved to know since she was heading it" he replied angrily._

 _"You were my friend Ansel."_

 _"I was her friend too. You will ruin me James." Ansel replied "this company is what I have. I started it with you. You cannot do that."_

 _"I can and I will … unless…." James said, a wicked smile spreading on his lips._

 _"what?" with a dread in his stomach._

 _"I want heirs Ansel" James said._

 _"I dont understand."_

 _"You son Niklaus is single. My daughter Eden is single. If they get married and give me an heir the board member will miraculously back off but if not then you can imagine what I can do."_

 _"No. I cannot do that. Not to my son or Eden. She is like a daughter to me. You cannot use her a pawn in your sick game" he said outrageously._

 _"If you like her so much then why not make her your daughter-in-law. We both will have an heir."_

 _"Niklaus will never agree to it" Ansel replied after being quiet for a moment._

 _"your son is a savvy businessman. He knows when to strike a deal. Talk to him about it. Until then I can keep my vote to myself."_

 ** _end flashback_**

Looking at his son's silent and closed-up face Ansel wondered if he had made a right decision.

 ** _Flashback Ansel_**

 ** _11th November, 2014_**

 _He was reading a book when his cell buzzed. Seeing Niklaus's name at five in the morning he picked it up wondering what could have made him call him so early in the morning._

 _"Father, someone called from Medic Center" a moment of silence and then "Eden was involved in a car accident….Ummm they want someone to come and identify her."_

 _The book fell from his hand as he stared at the wall opposite him._

 _"Niklaus what are you saying?"_

 _"She has not survived." For a moment he wondered if his son's voice was broken but then he continued in a savage voice " She was with a man when she had that accident and you thought she was innocent. First Elijah and now this!"_

 _"Niklaus… no…. " but was interrupted by Klaus saying "you need to go and identify her. I dont want to do anything with her. She died for me the day she cheated on me" and with that he disconnected the call._

 _An hour later he was staring at a body on a steel table covered by a white sheet. His heart was beating out of his chest and he was praying for a miracle. At his nod the coroner removed the sheet from the face and he flinched at how badly the face was injured. He continued to stare at the body and then shook his head. Gathered his wits and said "can you turn her over? She had a birthmark on her shoulder."_

 _A few minutes later he took a deep breath at the absence of that moon shaped birthmark on her shoulder and almost staggered a step back. A relieved laugh escaped his lips but he stiffle did quickly and shook his head. He looked around feeling relieved and panicked at the same time. After the coroner covered her and came out, he said"no, she is not her."_

 _"Oh I am sorry. Actually there were three more casualties in this accident. There must have been a confusion. I am sorry you had to go through this."_

 _"How can I find out where she is?"_

 _"There was another girl brought in with this body. She is in critical condition. You can see her if you want to."_

 _Half an hour later in a ward in the intensive unit, he was staring at Eden lying on the bed hooked on to number of tubes with bandages on her face, one leg and an arm in the sling. He walked to her and gently held her hand murmuring "Eden, my child, everything will be okay."_

 ** _end Flashback_**

"What are you thinking father?" Klaus asked seeing a cloudy look on his face.

"Just thinking of night you told me about Eden's accident" he answered.

"I don't want to talk about Eden, father."

"But Niklaus…"

"father you should rest. I will see you tomorrow" he said and stormed out of the room making Ansel wonder if he should have told him. While he drifted to his sleeping thinking about the aftermath of day he had found Eden to be alive but worse than living, Klaus was pacing his room angry at his father for bringing Eden up again when he was trying to move on, angry at Hayley for invading his memories, disturbing him like Eden used to do, Hayley curling up in her bed thinking about how angry Klaus was today and how happy Ansel looked to be at home and how Hope had slept in her lap for the first time without making any fuss.

* * *

Elijah was pacing his room with a smile on his lips, green eyes flashing with anger staring into his face haunting him ever since he had seen her. Was it possible to fall in love at first sight? he wondered and then smiled at how his libido was acting up reminding him of his teenage years. She was beautiful- Ms. Marshall.

* * *

Klaus sat up aroused from a deep sleep when he the door to his room banged open and Caroline exclaimed "Klaus!"

He jumped out of his bed knowing deep in his bones that something had gone wrong. He ran towards his father's room down the corridor without bothering to wear his gown. Even without the evidence of holding his pulse he knew that his father was gone, gone peacefully in his sleep. It was as if he was waiting to get home, hold Hope, be with his family. He sat down at the edge of the bed feeling like an old man. Regret about spending so less time with him filled his heart. He looked towards Caroline who was crying earnestly. He walked to her, hugged her, hold her as she continued to cry in his chest.

* * *

It was only ten in the morning. Hayley pulled the strings of her gown tight around her waist, held her coffee in her hands and settled down in the settee before she dialed the number. The moment the call connected she said "hello Dani."

"princess…."

"Dani how many times I have to tell you not to call me that. Someone will recognize me."

"How can I not call you princess when I have called you by that only since the day you were born. How are you child?"

"I am good. How is Hannah? Do you tell her about me? Does she remember me?" She asked all the questions in one breath and then waited anxiously to hear the response.

"I do. She knows you. She looks at your picture and remembers you. She misses you too and asks about you a lot but princess, realistically how long do you expect her to?"

"I know" Hayley stifled a sob "you know I cannot come. If daddy finds out that will be disastrous. It is better this way. Also if I am unable to get her then she is better off without me."

"You don't mean that princess. You don't want to leave this child with your tyrant of a father. Do you? If I didnt know better I would never guess him to have father two beautiful daughters."

Hayley pursed her lips sadly and then said "give her my love Dani. I will call again" when tears started flowing from her eyes. "I love you Dani. Thanks for taking care of her."

 ** _Flashback Hayley_**

 ** _August, 2013_**

 _"What are you saying daddy?"_

 _"You want Hannah, I want a boy to carry on my name. An heir I was deprived of from your whore of a mother" her father said contemptuously._

 _"How can I…." she continued to look towards him and then asked speculatively while her heart started to thud loudly "what are you exactly saying daddy?"_

 _"Give me a legitimate heir and you can get Hannah. Operative word being legitimate"_

 _"But you cannot do that to me. I can go to court."_

 _"Go. And let the world know she is the daughter of a whore."_

 _"No…. You promised you will never tell anyone. You promised…."_

 _"What about Jackson? I can ruin him you know."_

 _"What do you want from me daddy?" she knew when she was facing defeat._

 _"I gave you roof. I took you in when no one else would" his voice was dripping with hatred. "You are just like your mother. A cheating whore!"_

 _"What will you gain by that? Even if I have a son, he will be mine not yours. You cannot take him from me."_

 _"You think I want another slimy creature in my life" he laughed cruelly "no my dear daughter" he continued with sneer "I dont give a damn about the child. It is about passing on my child will inherit my name, my company will live through him.I cannot very well give my company to whore, can I?"_

 _"But…."_

 _"I cannot force your hand you know" he said arrogantly._

 _She was quiet for a moment and then asked "If i do what you want me to do, will you give her to me then?"_

 _"Of course. I am a man of my word"_

 _"Alright…" She said totally resigned and feeling defeated at once again in front of her father._

 _She turned to leave when he said "I have someone in mind."_

 _"Who?" she turned towards him._

 _"I will let you know when the time comes" saying that he walked out of room and she slid on the carpet crying._

 ** _end flashback_**

After putting the cell down she continued to cry for good half an hour thinking about the little girl whose spirit her father was killing just like he killed her own. The promise she had made to that little girl now laid broken just like her heart. After having a good cry followed by a severe headache she took some aspirin and climbed back into the bed and went to sleep.

When she woke up a couple of hours later feeling better she took a long shower, dressed up in casual slacks and an old battered shirt. She then dialed Ansel's cell phone but even before call connected she disconnected thinking of giving him some time to spend with his family while she spends some alone time before going to her weekly dance class.

Later that night when she got home, her feet were tired from the class and the long walk she had taken along the lake. She took a shower, made a sandwich for herself and tucked herself in her bed. Before she knew it she went to sleep. Next morning while making her coffee, she stifled a yawn and decided to to talk to Ansel.

While pouring the coffee in her mug she said "hello…" when the call got connected. A frown appeared on her forehead when she heard Caroline say "good morning Ms. Marshall."

"Caroline….Ms. Stantson I thought I dialed Ansel's number."

"it is his number" a sobbed voice came making her heart stop beating. She knew even before she asked "what happened?"

"He passed away during this sleep."

Hayley closed her eyes in anguish and asked "when?"

"Friday"

"Oh. when is the funeral?" She asked in daze.

"Tomorrow. At 10 am" Caroline said "Hayley I have to go. Hope is upset. I think she sense something has happened."

Before waiting for her reply the call was disconnected.

Hayley stared at the cell phone and then she dashed to her room feeling lost and angry. She changed into black dress, pulled her hair in a ponytail, grabbed her keys from the counter and dashed outside.

* * *

In Haven Klaus put the phone down and said to Caroline "Mr. Alexander has to leave the country tomorrow afternoon so he will read the will immediately after the funeral." He paused for a moment and then continued as if he will swallowing something bitter "he wants to be present too."

"Why her?" Caroline asked angrily "by the way she called. Didn't you tell her about dad's death?"

"No" he replied angrily "and I don't know why her presence is required."

"Mr. Mikaelson!" hearing her shout from the foyer he walked out of the study in surprise and came face to face with her angry face "what is your problem?" She asked before he could say anything.

She stepped towards him and poked a finger on his chest saying "you are a little piece of shit you know. You narrow-minded evil person. I loved your father and he loved me. You hate me so much that you couldnt even bring yourself to tell me that he had died. I cannot believe such a lovely man could have such a cruel man as a son. He would have been ashamed of you today."

"Are you done?" he asked coldly after glancing at the finger poking his chest.

The simple calmly said words had a weird affect on her. She felt all the anger drained form her suddenly as she noticed the strain signs on his face. She felt ashamed of her outburst. It was his father who had died after all- a father he had just recently met. She withdrew her finger from his chest and muttered "yes. I…." paused for a moment and then continued "I am sorry for your loss and I am sorry for my outburst."

"I think you should leave Ms. Marshall and if you want to come, the funeral is at Trinity church tomorrow at ten in the morning" Caroline spoke quietly from next to KLaus.

She muttered "thanks. I am sorry once again for your loss" not able to look into his eyes and left the house quietly.

* * *

Hayley didnt know when was the last time she felt that way. No, in fact she knew. The awful day when her own husband had kicked her out of her house, took away her daughter and suspected her of having an affair with another man. She felt drained, unable to forget the scene of lowering Ansel in the ground. The sadness in Klaus's eyes touching something deep in her heart even in this anger and resentment towards him. She had an idea how will he deal with his sadness. Hope will suffer. She knew Hope will suffer. Where was she today? She had not seen her at the funeral today. Did Nessa keep her at home or took her somewhere else? Caroline was saying that she was disturbed. Do kids so small feel that something wrong has happened? Shouldnt Klaus be with her right now? Wondering what Ansel has left for her in his will she changed her clothes and then headed back towards Haven.

 _A_ s Klaus entered the room, he stopped when he saw Hayley sitting there looking poised in her black knee length skirt and white blouse buttoned till the neck and high heel pumps. Their eyes met and he noticed the sadness in them. Feeling angry at his body's instantaneous reaction towards her even under these current situation, he went to sit next to Caroline and said "I am sorry, I got hung up by a phone call. Yes Mr. Benjumin lets start it."

As he sat down, Caroline asked "is Ms. Marshall presence required." Even from the corner of his eye he noticed her body jerk but when he looked towards her she seemed as poised as she was before.

Mr. Benjuman said clearing his throat "yes. Ansel gave me a clear instruction about her presence during the will reading. He has left something for Ms. Marshall in her will."

"What?" Caroline started but Klaus quelled her by one look and said "Please continue Mr. Benjuman".

He looked down at the paper in front of him and said "The details are in this. You can read it in later. Right now I will go through the salient points. First his granddaughter Hope. Ansel has left five million for her which she can receive when she turns twenty five. Now Ms. Stantson whom Ansel considered his own daughter and cared for a lot, he has left one million for and Stanly mansion. He knew you loved that mansion Ms. Stantson." he added with a smile.

"As for Falcon Industries Ansel wanted Ms. Stantson to get five percent of the company's share provided she gets married within six month of reading of this will. If not then that five percent will go to Amanda Charity for kids."

Caroline jumped from her chair saying "but …. "

"Sit down Caroline" Klaus said softly. His eyes fixed on the lawyer. A gut feeling telling him worst is yet to come.

The lawyer looked towards Hayley and then continued "Ms Marshall Ansel has left one million dollars for you."

"What..." Caroline started again while Klaus shifted in his chair.

Hayley wanted to say "she didnt want it" but the lawyer was already looking towards Klaus and continuing "Mr. Mikaelson your father asked me to make some changes in his will recently. He has left rest of his assets to you. You will own the company but Ms. Marshall will continue to retain her job in the company provided she wants to continue working there. You cannot fire her in any situation. If you do that she will get thirty percent share in the the company." There was a gasp from the side of room where Hayley was sitting. The lawyer continued ignoring her "whereas Ms. Marshall can choose to resign at any time from the company."

He paused for a moment to gauge the outrageous expressions on the faces of occupants of the room as he had expected clearly remembering him trying to dissuade Ansel from making such a volatile condition.

A gasp from Caroline made Klaus looked towards her angrily but she was standing up saying "that is not fair. Why would he put such a condition?"

"Caroline sit down" he said keeping his voice calm even thought he felt like bursting and killing Hayley Marshall. "I suspect worst is still to come" and groaned inwards when he saw a tight-lipped smile on his father's lawyer.

The lawyer continued "Ansel had made a request for you to give the guesthouse at Haven to her."

"But that guesthouse is part of Klaus's property" Caroline spoke again.

"In the case of you not giving her the guesthouse, she gets Stanly Mansion."

"But he left that to me" Caroline protested.

It took all of Hayley's willpower not to look towards Klaus as her mind registered the suppressed anger. Shivering under the composed demeanor she wondered "why would Ansel do all this to her? How was this going to help her get what she wanted and needed."

"Haven belongs to me" Klaus said in a lethally soft voice. "He cannot ask me to do that."

"Ansel was very clear that if you refuse to give the guesthouse to Hayley she gets the Stanly Mansion and in that case Ms. Stantson will get two million instead of one."

Klaus looked at him in fury knowing well that his father knew how much Caroline loved that mansion. Looking at Caroline's shattered face, fisting his hands, in that instance he knew he will do anything to keep that mansion for Caroline even if it meant giving Ms. Marshall the guesthouse.

"Why would he do that to me Klaus?" Caroline asked in-between her sob.

"Don't worry Caroline. Stanly Mansion is yours. Ms. Marshall can have the guesthouse" Klaus said calmly as he squeezed her hand softly but Hayley could see the lethal storm brewing up under this calm demeanor.

Klaus raging in fury turned towards Hayley who looked composed otherwise except for a tightness around the corner of her mouth. He could feel Caroline wanting to jump at her throat. He didn't blame her because at the moment he was feeling the same thing.

"Ms Marshall do you have any questions?" the lawyer asked her. When she shook her head he took out an envelope from the file and handed it towards her saying "this is something Ansel left for you. I am not aware of the contents within."

Hayley got up and took the envelop from his hand and tore it open. While she was reading the contents of the letter, the lawyer turned to Klaus and asked "have you decided what to do Mr. Mikaelson?"

He got up from his seat and strolled towards the window wanting to be as far from Hayley Marshall as he could. He continued to stare outside the window and then he turned towards Hayley who was still engrossed in the letter and said "Ms. Marshall can have the guesthouse and I will find a vacancy for her if she desires to work in my company. After all she had been working really hard towards this goal in the past year.

She looked towards them, not feeling an ounce of resentment at what he was insinuating. With a serene smile on her lips she said "thank you Mr. Benjuman. And Mr. Mikaelson I will let you know about the job but thank you for the guesthouse."

She picked up her bag and left the room feeing at peace at last, thanking Ansel for giving her a way to be near her daughter. She was finally going to be able to be close to Hope. He fulfilled his promise on getting Hope back in her life.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Hmm it turned out longer than I expected. I hope most of your confusion and questions are answered. You will find more and more as the story will continue. Tell me what do you think? Still confused or has it started to make some sense?_**


	6. Blast from the past - 1

**_A/N: Thank you for the wonderful reviews. Here are answers to some of your questions._**

 ** _This chapter has some sensitive content. Details about her accident. Read on your own discretion._**

 ** _Synopsis: Hayley moves to the guesthouse. Camille comes to visit Mystic Falls. Klaus tries to embrace Hayley's presence in his life._**

* * *

Hayley felt like she was floating in sky when she laid down on her bed that night. The thought of being near Hope was so elating that didnt even let the possibility that Klaus wouldnt like her and Hope's interaction ruin the moment for her. Remembering what she had been through for the past two years she sighed. This was what she had been working towards. She closed her eyes suddenly seeming at lost about the next step in her plan that started that awful night when she had almost lost her life.

 ** _Flashback Hayley_**

 ** _20th November, 2014_**

 _She was in terrible pain when she woke up and instantly she knew something was terribly wrong. She tried to open her eyes. The strain caused pain in her eyelids but now she could see blurred surroundings, a man standing next to her or were there two men, she was not sure of it. She must have made a sound because she heard a gentle voice said "Eden… child. I am here. Everything will be okay."_

 _It took a moment for her fuzzy brain to recognize that voice. She stammered "Anse….l…" but winced as she tasted blood in her mouth._

 _"you shouldnt try to talk Mrs. Mikaelson" another gentle but authoritative voice said. "I am Dr. Mehta. Do you remember what happened?"_

 _"I….I…." and suddenly she remembered Niklaus shouting at her and closing the door on her face accusing her of having an affair with Elijah. Her pleading with him to let her see Hope one last time, denying all the claims he was making. Her walking out the big wrought iron gate in despair, the sound of gravel under her heel of her stiletto crushing her heart, the thought of losing Hope and Hannah in one night, her calling Jackson in desperation, Jackson's shock on finding out about Hannah and then the sound of her own scream as the truck from the opposite lane veered into their lane, her long plait bouncing at her back, the airbag crushing the air out of her lungs, a terrible pain in her legs and face as she felt her body jerking in the seat, the seat belt digging into her lungs. She uttered with difficulty "I was in an accident. Jackson?"_

 _Sensing the question in her voice, the stranger's voice said "Mrs. Mikaelson you should not tense yourself."_

 _"Jackson…" she tried to get up but winced loudly as she felt pain in her leg and arm besides immobility, somewhere in the region of her right ribs and then she asked panicking "Wh….what… what happened?"_

 _Following a sharp tone in the room "you should take it easy Mrs. Mikaelson. Your blood pressure is shooting. You are still not stable."_

 _She asked in the same panic " Ansel…Niklaus…" but was unable to continue._

 _The beep sound stopped and Ansel said "you should not speak Eden. .. Here" a hand was thrust in her hand as she groped for it through her half closed eyes._

 _Dr. Mehta said "Mrs. Mikaelson, you were in the accident ten days ago and you have been in comma since you have been brought to this hospital from Mystic Falls. You have suffered major fractures on your face, left leg, right arm and your back. But you are in good hands. We will do everything we can do to treat your injuries."_

 _"Jac…. k… Jack…" she asked in a broken feeble voice as her uninjured hand moved to her face and her heart stopped beating for a moment when her fingers felt the gauze and her tongue felt the swollen lips._

 _"I am sorry to inform you that your friend with you expired at the spot. You were the sole survival."_

 _"Where I… where am I…. Ansel….?"_

 _"Mrs. Mikaelson your questions show the presence of mind which is a good sign. It shows that your mind has not suffered any were in Central Medic in Mystic Falls when you had the accident but your father-in-law has moved you to John Hopkins when he came to see you."_

 _"Niklaus…?" she asked again in pained voice "Hope…."_

 _"Eden don't exert yourself. You need to calm down and rest." Ansel consoled._

 _She was quiet for a moment as she recalled Niklaus's furious face as he stood at the door. She asked dejectedly "he didnt come?"_

 _"Eden….he thinks.. he thinks that you died."_

 _A pained gasp escaped her mouth. She must have been quiet for a very long time because she felt her hand being squeezed by a gentle warm hand. She looked towards the person owning the hand and recognized Ansel. She must have muttered something because he leaned towards her and asked "what is it?"_

 _"Dont tell him I lived." she whispered through her pain and then she sobbed loudly and the next second she became hysterical, tears started to fall uncontrollably and her body started to shake as she cried for the first time since her husband had kicked her out of Haven and taken their daughter from her._

 _"Mrs. Mikaelson please. You shouldn't do this. I promise you after the treatment you will be fine." Suddenly she let herself invite the intense physical pain from her injuries that her mind had so far seemed to have blocked under the shock of what had happened. She cried "it hurts. It hurts…."_

 _A moment later she felt something pinch in her arm and she knew that she was given some injection. Not long after that she had drifted off to a wistful sleep._

 _When she woke up next, she was still in pain but the first thing she asked despite her not wanting to "Niklaus…" but the voice that came back belonged to Ansel "Eden… how are you feeling?" after a very short pause he continued "I know you are in pain but Dr. Mehta is best. He will do anything he can do to help you get better. You just need to hold on. Hold on to Hope. Do you remember her Eden?"_

 _She blinked and said "yes I can. Ansel I never…" but he stopped her by pressing her hand and said "dont think about it Eden. Niklaus will come around…"_

 _"No… I dont want him or Hope to see me like this!" she said hysterically._

 _"Can you see me Eden?" he asked anxiously._

 _She could. She could see him but there was blurriness. She said "yes I can but it hurts to open my eyes further."_

 _"of course it hurts. You were badly injured Eden…" he started._

 _"What are the extent of my injuries Ansel?"_

 _"I cannot explain it to you. Dr Mehta will talk to you about it but remember I am with you. I am with you when you go through this."_

 _"thank you" she squeezed his hand "just dont tell Niklaus … that I am alive" her voice slurred as she felt another wave of pain._

 ** _end flashback_**

The pain felt so real that she was jerked back into present. She tossed and turned as she recalled Dr. Mehta once again explaining her about her injuries next time on his next visit. Until then she didnt even know the terminology Maxillofacial trauma but she became familiar with the term during the next five months during which she developed a profound respect for plastic surgeons. Dr. Mehta and a team of highly trained surgeons did their best to stabilize the multiple fractures in her jaws by surgically placing the small plates and screws, the reconstruction of her broken nose, dental implant for two of her lost teeth placed by the dental specialist. How much effort it required her to recover from her back injuries and hours and hours of rehabilitation.

 ** _flashback_**

 _When she looked at herself she stared at the stranger looking back at her. Even though she was warned by Dr. Mehta that there will be permanent changes to her face as a result of reconstruction, she realized that she was not really prepared for the changes until now. She touched the surgical suture at her hairline which she was assured will not leave a mark in a few months, under her chin which she was told will be permanent. Touching her face she felt like a stranger as she shifted in her bed and a pain shot from her back to her legs._

 _"How do you feel Eden?" asked Dr. Mehta as he went through her chart._

 _"I…. like a different person. My nose looks so different." she replied not sure about her feelings. "Eden what I am about to tell you, dont get upset. In many cases of reconstruction due to the injury on one side of the face, sometimes the after-reconstruction results shows asymmetry between both sides of the face but you got lucky since the nature of your injuries was such that. And most importantly we didnt have to do full face reconstruction which is a great thing because often such trauma patients lose their identity after going through such an incident in their life. Saying that, you will have to go through therapy too. Often patients think that therapy is unnecessary and they can cope with all this but trust me when I tell you, worst is still to come. You have to go through the therapy to not lose yourself."_

 _She was not listening to Dr. Mehta. ''Have I ever told you that I adore your dimples?' a rare admission of appreciation of her in Niklaus's husky voice rip through the air and doubled the pain in her heart when she noticed the lack of them as she tried to smile and her fingers traced the fullness of her reconstructed cheek._

 _She continued to stare at her face and out of blue she felt the light trace of his fingers on her back inching towards her birthmark on her shoulder followed by a kiss on it. The memory brought tears to her eyes. Suddenly she wanted no sign of anything he liked on her body and she asked firmly "can plastic surgery remove anything?"_

 _Dr. Mehta looked up from the file he was looking into in surprise, exchange a look with Ansel and said "well most of the things."_

 _"I want you to remove a birthmark on my shoulder." She replied as she continued to touch her face, the lack of dimples, the stitches marks in her chin, a small scar under the eyebrow, another one inch scar on her temple and a slight sag she was feeling at her eye._

 ** _A month later_**

 _She was lost in her thoughts thinking about those pictures once again like she had been doing on quiet evenings like today during these last six months since the accident and wondering how was it possible. Was it someone posing to be her or did someone photoshopped them but who? Niklaus…. Her thoughts were interrupted by Ansel's voice "Eden."_

 _She looked towards him and asked "sorry, what?"_

 _"I asked how was the therapy today?"_

 _She said mechanically "good. I hardly feel any pain in my back now."_

 _He asked gently "what is the matter? You seem lost."_

 _"I…" she was unable to continue still in shock at what her thoughts took her to._

 _"what are you thinking Eden?"_

 _"Did he ever ask you about me ever since you came that day to identify me?"_

 _"who?" Ansel asked in confusion._

 _"Niklaus." she whispered._

 _A dark cloud passed his face and she saw his lips tightening. A sadness filled her heart and a suspicion that had just started in her mind, took root and she knew it was Niklaus who went to that elaborate plan to get rid of her, to free himself of the prison he was forced to share with her. The pain at the realization was so sharp that it felt that her heart was cut into two with a sharp knife. She squeezed her eyes shut to stop the bile that was rising in her stomach._

 _"Eden it is time to tell Niklaus…"_

 _"NO!" she said sharply jerking back from her thoughts. Then she continued in a gentler tone "I am dead to him." Her own voice sounded dead to her._

 _She looked straight into his confused voice and continued in a firm voice "since he didnt care to what happened to me, he does not get to know I am alive. The confusion at the hospital that day was a blessing in disguise for me. I am starting a new life Ansel."_

 _"what do you mean? You told me not to tell him or your father six months ago. You were so broken about everything that I let you convince me but I assumed that you meant until you got better. Now it is time. He needs to know his wife …." only to be interrupted by her asking instead "how do you like the name Hayley?"_

 _"Eden?" he asked in confusion._

 _She walked towards him, stretched up to her full height and said with a smile "meet Hayley Marshall. Eden Mikaelson is dead."_

 _"Eden…" Ansel protested._

 _"No. My name is Hayley Marshall. I am starting a new life. Eden's life was a disaster. I have been given a new chance to live my life with clean slate. After what happened between us Niklaus will never let me have Hope in my life. This is the only way I can get involved in Hope's life."_

 _"What happened between you two?" her mind didnt register his question as it was busy wondering about her course of action in future- the things she needed to do to become Hayley Marshall._

 _"What?"_

 _He said gently but firmly "sit down. I need to talk to you."_

 _She sat next to him feeling apprehensive about the conversation that Ansel wanted to have with her._

 _He said gently "now that you are all better I want to talk to you about what really happened between you and Niklaus."_

 _"There is nothing to talk about" she started in panic wondering how could she tell Ansel about her suspicion. Her estranged husband was this gentle and kind man's son. How could she disillusion his high opinion about his own son?! And at that moment she knew she could never bring herself to tell this man at the lengths his son went to destroy her life._

 _"That is what he says whenever I try to talk to him about that night and why would he think that you were having an affair with Elijah or even with this man Jackson who as per your father was just an old family friend. When Niklaus first told me about his suspicion the night of accident I was so shocked about the news of the accident that it didnt really penetrate into my mind but later whenever I asked him he shut me out. Now you tell me what really happened between you two and how come you ended up with Jackson in that car?"_

 _She searched her mind in panic to come up with some reason, any reason to put this man's who had been here for her when her own father was not there for her at ease. She said without looking towards him "there was a misunderstanding."_

 _When she didnt hear anything she looked back towards him and saw a speculative look in his eyes. She prepared herself to be put under a microscope and got ready to defend herself but when he asked "which can be removed?" she was at loss for words for a moment but then she shook her head keeping her eyes averted from Ansel's._

 _"Eden!" The disappointment in his voice cut her heart into two and for a millisecond she wanted to tell him what his son did to her and her darkest secrets but then she had a moment of clarity and she knew that she could never make this kind man see what an evil son he produced from no mistake of his._

 _"I made a mistake Ansel" thinking about her darkest secret and the mistake that had tied her to her father and given her father to use her as a pawn in his games "but this is my chance of moving forward with clean slate."_

 _"Eden talk to him…."_

 _She started determinedly "Hayley… My name is Hayley Marshall. I am born in New Orleans, Louisiana. I am twenty six years old" and then she broke down "Ed.. Eden Mikaelsson is dead. She died the day she walked out on your son's life freeing him and her from the prison they were both thrown into by her tyrant of a father" and the tears started to fall from her eyes._

 _"Eden" he engulfed her in his arms and let her cry. "Your father, your daughter, your sister and your husband have a right to know that you are alive."_

 _"no, no-one does. Hannah…she…she " she broke up thinking about that little girl she shook her head and continued "she is too young to remember me… A few more months out of her life and she will forget about me. If Niklaus ever asks you, which he will never" she added cynically which even with effort she couldn't hide from her tone "you can tell him there was nothing left after the accident. As for my father he does not care. I died for him six months ago." She took a deep breath to compose herself and then continued "I cannot live in past. Right now I need to get a new social security number and driving license and…and …"_

 _Her voice trailed off as she noticed concern on Ansel's face. She continued "will you help me Ansel?"_

 _"Talk to Niklaus Eden." he said again "whatever happened between you two, there is noting that cannot be fixed. You two have a daughter together who needs her mother and father."_

 _"No…" she said sternly "I am dead to him and that is how I want this to remain. This is the only way I can escape from being a pawn in my father's hands. As for Hope as much as I love her, she has a loving family around her. I have to think about Hannah right now."_

 _"how will you do that Eden…. no you will be Eden to me… he added when he saw her interrupting._

 _"Until I officially become Hayley" she replied determinedly and then continued softly "as a nanny" as she mentally started planning how to obtain the necessary documents to make her new identity, oddly feeling stoic while doing all the planning, forcing herself not to think about Klaus, her husband who broke her heart so badly that she knew that it would never mend. Forget about the broken heart, she told herself. She needed to stand up for herself. It was about time. She will not let Hannah suffer more. She will do something… something to get her out of under her father's influence._

 ** _End flashback_**

She must have drifted off to sleep because when she opened her eyes next dawn was making an appearance. She stretched and closed her eyes again but sleep was nowhere near her eyes. Even though she had gotten what she wanted… well gotten as close to her mission as she could be she was unable to find any peace. She was still restless. Ansel! She was missing him. He was her steel. Even his final words in that letter he had left for her was full of hope and showed the path to Hope and Hannah. It was because of him that she could still work in his… no now Niklaus's company. He knew that she needed a good job. Even without Ansel's insisting that she kept the job in their company, she knew that she was always going to keep that job to establish the security required when she would be applying for custody of Hannah. Now that she was as close to Hope as she could get, she needed to start thinking about Hannah. What was going to happen to that little girl who had suffered enough in her young life? Nothing went as she had expected. She couldn't even get a job as a nanny to her. She was still under her father's influence but what could she do? If her father had found out that she was alive, Niklaus would have too and she would have lost Hope as well as Hannah whom she was sure her father would never let her have. She needed to be Hayley Marshall to be successful in her plan. She sighed and wondered when will she be able to meet her? her heart aching for her daughter. She should call Dani to talk to her. With some difficulty and after taking some sleeping pills she went to sleep.

* * *

Klaus was unable to sleep. He put on his dressing gown and walked towards the study. Pouring himself a glass of whisky he went to sit behind his desk and turned on his laptop but he was unable to concentrate. All he could think about was the loss he had suffered followed by that joke of a will. How could his father do this to him? Not for the first time he wondered since the will had been read. Was he being punished for something he didnt do for his father? Forcing to keep Ms. Marshall in the company was something he had never imagined. The only thing he was sure of after his father's death was that he would be rid of Ms. Marshall for good but he was wrong there too. She had made sure that she remained in his life. Not just in his office, the place he considered his solicitude but also his home… his home. She was going to be in the premises when not in the office. He lit a cigarette and swiveled around his seat around to face the beautiful garden illuminated by the lights. Thinking about that smile on her face when she had thanked the lawyer and told him about her decision about job, a rage went through him. She not only made a fool out of her father but also of him. He who never believed that there was something going on between her and his father was being forced to eat his own words. Why would his father leave so much for her unless their relationship was more than what was on the surface? Suddenly he sneered. She wanted to work in the company. She will work. He decided determinedly. She wouldnt last a week, he was sure of it. He would make sure of it. The thought gave him some comfort. And finally he was able to concentrate on his work with this satisfaction that come tomorrow Ms. Marshall was going to be in for a treat. Gone was his father and his affections and indulgences for her.

* * *

Next morning Hayley after changing her clothes, with excitement and apprehension she started packed her bags. She stilled in the process wondering if she could move to Haven today or not. She took out her cell and after staring at it for a long time, dialed Klaus's office and said to his PA "this is Ms. Marshall and I need to talk to Mr. Mikaelson."

A moment later his secretary said "I am sorry Ms. Marshall, he is in a meeting."

She knew he was not busy. How many times she had heard that excuse during their marriage. He was avoiding her. She bit her lips so hard that she could taste the blood. The irony of things was such that she was not even the same person but still she got the same treatment.

"It is urgent. Tell him if he does not talk to me there will be consequences."

Hearing his secretary gasp she knew she had crossed a line but she was not Eden anymore. She didnt care about him. Liar. A voice said. You still care and that is why you are still hurt. She shook her head and smiled with satisfaction when she heard his harsh tone "what is the meaning of this?"

"I want to move to Haven today."

"it is too early. I need to file for the paperwork."

Liar, she knew that there was not paperwork since it was his property and he could let her live there on his discretion. "Lease at my apartment is ending tomorrow. I dont want to renew the lease here."

"You…. I will see what I can do."

"So nice of you. If I dont hear from you by the end of the day today, my lawyer will contact you tomorrow." She said and then disconnected the call knowing well that it was an empty threat. She would never call a lawyer on such a small thing or will she? But one thing she was sure of was that Klaus hated scandals. Involving lawyers will definitely do that so she was not surprised when he called an hour later himself and said curtly "you can move in today" and disconnected before she could say anything further. Her heart ached unexpected but she smiled and continued with her packing.

There was not much to pack so she was done in two hours. She looked at the plain empty apartment as she closed the door quietly behind her and went down to her car. It was noon when she reached Haven. Her heart was beating out of her chest. Until today she came in this house as a guest to Ansel but now she was coming _home_ … home she scowled. Dont get too emotionally attached to it. Home is temporary. Hope is permanent. She is here for Hope, she told herself. And then she noticed the closed gate and for the first time wondered how will she get in there. She always came with Ansel to this house. Now what? Should she call him again? Shouldnt he have told her the code to open the gate? Did you ask him? No. So stop blaming him for everything. She pursed her lips and got out of the car and after standing there for a moment she dialed Caroline's number. As soon as the call connected she said "Ms. Stantson, this is Ms. Marshall. I am moving to Haven today. The gate is closed and I need you to open the gate please."

"I am not home Ms. Marshall. I will be hope in one hour." she replied.

"Joseph must be at home.. Cant you…." Hayley stopped talking when she noticed Klaus's jaguar driving towards the gate. "Thank you. I will manage it." she said and then without waiting for response close the phone.  
Wondering what was he doing so early home she stared at him wordlessly. She startled when he said harshly "remove your car out of my way."

"I need the code for the gate." She said.

When he didnt answer she walked to her car and sat behind the wheel as all energy drained from her body. Remembering everything last night was making her feel vulnerable in front of him. She felt as if she was loosing all the control she had put on her for the past one year. She told herself remember the anger and that feeling of isolation she had felt during those long months in the hospital alone hoping that he will come to see her, the humiliation she had to suffer at his words when he had kicked her out of this very home, the feeling of failure when he took Hope from her… not just Hope, Hannah too.

She startled when she realized that she had followed him in her car and now they were both near the parking area.

She took out her bag from the trunk of her jaguar and pursed her lips when he said sarcastically "I was expecting a moving van."

"well you are in for a disappointment" she muttered without looking towards him. She hated him… she need to hate him. She kept telling herself. She hated her husband. The word cut her through as she wondered for the first time since she became Hayley Marshall at the unbroken tie between them. She was still bound to him and he was to her…. was he? She wondered and startled when she felt his hand over hers. At first she thought he was holding her hand and a current pass through him but then realized that he was taking her bag from her hand. She looked into his pale blue eye and saw something that she couldn't read but she knew she needed to keep her distance from him so she stepped back but not letting go of the bag saying coldly "I can carry my own baggage. I dont need you. The only thing I require is the key to the guesthouse and the code for the gate."

He sneered, keeping his hold on the bag "I dont want to help you. I just wanted to congratul…"

"Get out of my way Mr. Mikaelson. I dont want to say anything to you that you and I both will regret later…."

"I dont think there is a single bone in your body that feels the regret on your actions. What you pulled through that will…." but he stopped talking as she snatched the bag from his hand forcibly said coldly " thanks. I will see you at the office tomorrow" and started walking towards the guesthouse at the other side of the pool.

By the time he entered the house he was already seething in anger. He roared "Joseph…." When he appeared he said "go give Ms. Marshall the key to the guesthouse and the code for the gate" as he stormed upstairs towards his room.

Thank you Joseph" as he handed her the keys and carried her bag in the guesthouse.

"if you need anything Ms. Marshall, just come to the main house." he said gently.

"Thank you" she smiled and closed the door behind him. She turned to face the guesthouse and smiled. IN half an hour she already had a tour of it and settled in one of the two bedrooms. She deliberately chose the room facing the garden instead of the master bedroom. She walked into the living room facing the pool opened up in the kitchen. In a few glance she realized that with already furnished rooms and kitchen save the fridge that needed to be stocked, she didnt need much to make it functioning. She smiled as she walked in the empty house which was big enough to accommodate two of her apartments. She was happy yet sad at the cost at which she had gotten this house. She got the house but lost Ansel, the man who had been there for her on every step since before she lost everything. She was determined to convert this house into a home where she might be able to spend some time with Hope. She stretched on the recliner in the living room and stared at the garden outside. The fountain and the covered pool visible from that spot. She sighed and closed her eyes.

 ** _Flashback_**

 ** _February, 2014_**

"This garden needs a fountain." She murmured.

"You think so?" A voice called from behind her startling her.

She turned towards him and said "Niklaus! When did you come? I thought you had conference in California."

"Keeping track of my movements Eden?"

The touch of smile at the corner of his lips made her heart lurch and she turned back towards the garden. She murmured "of course. Ansel would not like it if I didnt know where my husband was."

From the corner of her eyes seeing him stiffen suddenly she knew he didn't like her response. "enjoy your company Eden" and stormed out of the room leaving her feeling angry with herself.

 ** _End flashback_**

She continued to look at the fountain thoughtfully and then got up, walked to the patio and slid the door open. She walked out, smelling the crip air as she wrapped her arms around her body. She startled when she heard the sound she had been hoping to hear for so many days. A gurgle of laughter filled the air. Pressing her hand to her chest she saw Hope running towards the fountain followed by Caroline. Their eyes met and the smile slipped from the older woman face. Hayley knew she was upset about the will but she told herself not to be bothered about it. It was all about Hope. Just pay attention to her. For the next few minutes she continued to look towards Hope watching her play in the garden in her lovely white dress, running around and then settling near the fountain splashing water all around. It took all her willpower not to dash to her and gather her in her arms and move her away from the water but she knew one thing and that was Caroline really cared about Hope. She would never let any harm to the little girl.

"Hope. Caroline" a voice startled her. She looked towards Klaus who was standing at the steps of the house with that scowl on her face and at once straightened and forced herself not to dash to them and shield Hope from whatever was coming towards her.

Caroline said something to Hope which she couldnt hear and they both started back towards the house. Even from the distance she could see Klaus saying something angry to them but now she couldnt hear them since he had lowered her voice but Hope's bend head was too much for her. She couldn't bear to look at them so she turned around and went inside the house.

 ** _Flashback Hayley_**

 ** _September, 14, 2014_**

 _"Niklaus!" she didnt want to call him but she couldnt stop herself. The pain was horrible. She looked at the closed door between their rooms and started to get up but she couldnt._

 _With difficulty she dragged herself out of the bed and realized in shock that she was bleeding. She took a step, with her hand on her stomach and crumbled on the floor. She stared at the door willing itself to open and maybe someone was listening to her when it suddenly opened and Ansel entered the room and dashed to her saying "Eden…." He went back out and said in a loud voice "Joseph call 911. Eden needs to go to hospital."_

 _Half an hour later she was being rushed to the hospital gasping in pain saying "my baby. Save my baby boy."_

 _"Ma'am, you need to remain calm. Your baby will be fine."_

 _She looked at the concerned faces of the paramedics and asked through the pain "my husband?"_

 _"We dont know ma'am. Please try to remain calm."_

 _She closed her eyes, her hand on her stomach and she screamed in pain._

 _She must be drifting in and out of consciousness because the next thing she heard was an authoritative but gentle voice "we will have to perform an emergency C-section She has lost a lot of blood."_

 _While her mind vaguely registered to Ansel saying something she herself started in panic "But it is only thirty six weeks. My husband is not here."_

 _"Mrs. Mikaelson you are losing a lot of blood. This is the only way we can save the baby."_

 _She opened her eyes and at once knew that she was in the hospital. The room was drenched in morning light even though blinds were partly drawn. The monitors, the tubes attached to her, her flat stomach, the pain on the touch told her she had gone through the surgery. She winced as she tried to get up but couldnt. 'My baby boy. Where is he?' as she searched the room to look for the signs of the baby in it._

 _Finding nothing, She started to get up again when a voice told her "dont move."_

 _"Niklaus…" she said with a sigh as she sagged back on the pillow "when did you come?" unable to keep her heart from fluttering out of her body. He had come for her. That was all that hit home._

 _"An hour ago." he replied coming in view of her. The strain in his voice almost touchable._

 _"Where is our son?" she asked._

 _"Eden…" he started_

 _"No. Dont say that…" she stopped him from continuing as fear got hold of her heart. The comfort at seeing him flew out of the window. "Where is he?" she almost shouted holding his hand and squeezing it._

 _"Eden. Calm down. Our daughter is fine. She is in NICU because she was born a bit premature."_

 _"Daughter but how…" she asked in confusion._

 _"Eden…. what is the matter?" he said in confusion._

 _"How could it be? I thought your family only had boys. I thought we were having a boy. How could I fail in this too?" she asked desperately. Hannah had just slipped from her hands._

 _"Eden…." this time his voice was harsh "You need to rest."_

 _but before she could say anything the door opened and she shrank back in the bed. Her eyes fixed on the grim expressions of the man entering the room and she squeezed gentle, warm hands holding hers. His eyes narrowed and he turned towards the door and she noticed him getting still._

 _"So you couldnt do even this right? I knew you were a disappointment but I had hopes" her father sneered._

 _"Be careful James. You are not talking to your daughter here. This is my wife you are talking to." Niklaus replied as he squeezed her hand._

 _"No matters. Next time" he said. "I know you will try again. There is too much at stake here." he added before exiting the room with a humorless laugh._

 _The moment the door closed Niklaus turned towards her. She noticed the warmth gone from his eye as his hand slipped from hers. The shutters that had just recently started to lift were back on. The sun was gone. All that was left was frost and extreme cold and darkness._

 ** _End Flashback_**

 _'What happened to you Niklaus? You loved your daughter. Are you punishing her for her mother's so-called crimes?'_ she asked herself as she stood in front of the vanity mirror and touched her face trying to find her old-self in her. She had lost too much weight in the past two years as she felt her bony collarbone. Remembering that speculative look in his eyes that she had now noticed a couple of times she wondered if she was letting herself slip and he was starting to see his wife in her. But she assured herself that with this weight-loss, the changes on her face were more prominent so there was no chance he would recognize her. If she didnt know herself she wouldnt recognize herself too.

* * *

It was late at night and he was again not able to sleep. He was pacing his room restlessly wondering how could he avoid Ms. Marshall. Seeing her across the pool today, feeling that unexpected electric current zapped through his body when their hands briefly touched today was a torture he was not prepared for. His libido was super active around her lately. He needed to be in control of his body if he wanted to take the revenge on her for manipulating his father. He needed to keep control of his heart which he knew was leaning more and more towards her. What the hell was matter with him? Two year. Two damn years he had been celibate because he had not been able to bring himself to get involved with another woman when he was filled with guilt at how his relationship had ended with the only one he loved from the bottom of his heart. Besides unable to replace Eden, he didnt trust himself at all not to destroy another woman. No other woman had the affect on him like Eden had….until now until Hayley Marshall walked into his life. He wanted her so badly that it shook him. Until she was not in reachable access he was in control but now that she was on her property just a few yards away it was difficult to keep his mind off of her. He was doomed, he knew but he will make sure she was doomed too just like he knew he had known he would do. He promised himself five minutes later while he stood under the cold shower to cool himself and his libido down.

* * *

"Are you sure he is ready to move on? I don't want to fight with ghosts of his past Bekah." Camille asked Rebekah while she stretched on her bed reading a magazine.

"It has been two years Camille. If he has not himself done so then he needs to. He cannot continue to pine for Eden all his life can he?" Rebekah said causally rolling over her back.

"I am only here for a week Rebekah. What can we do in a week?"

"Working on a clock? You know I am best in these circumstances" Rebekah sat down crisscrossed facing Camille with a smile on her face and Camille knew she will come up with something.

* * *

 ** _A/n: thought? Hope you liked it. Some of you had already guessed what was happening. Bet they must be congratulating themselves lol._**

 ** _It turned out longer than expected. Future chapters might not be this long. Must have answered all of your questions... well almost all of your question :). Hayley and Klaus will have more and more interaction as the story will continue but the past needed to be explained to show the connection. What do you think will be Rebekah's plan? is_** ** _Klaus ready to move on? What did you think about Klaus and Hayley at Hope's birth? What do you think Klaus have in mind for Hayley in terms of revenge?_**


	7. A Brewing Storm

**_Synopsis: Hayley starts working in Falcon Industries. Rebekah and Camille come up with a plan to entice Klaus. Caroline comes up with a solution to get ten percent of her share in the company._**

* * *

An hour later Rebekah was still pacing her room while Camille was now eating chocolate while lying down on her bed.

"So any ideas?" She asked second time in just under five minutes.

Rebekah resorted irritably "Why dont you think about something? You are telling me you have a week to make him fall for you and you are not giving me anything else to work with."

"I wish I could stay more. I am to join the office next week. Daddy is very excited about it. Shawn is going to work with Klaus on that new venture whereas I have to takeover the project Shawn is handling right now. I have to get familiarize …"

Rebekah stopped pacing, turned towards her and said excitedly "that is it!" cutting her off.

"What?" Camille sat up.

She said "tell your father that you want to work with Klaus on this new business venture. Shawn can continue with the project he is currently working on. He knows about that project so he can do it more efficiently and as for you, you will not have to learn what he had already done. You will be part of a project from its inception."

Camille stared at her in awe and then the smile broke on her face. She got on her knees excitedly saying "oh that is a great idea. Why didnt I think about it? I will talk to him tomorrow. This is wonderful Rebekah."

She jumped down from the bed and hugged Rebekah but then stepped back with a worried look on her face. Rebekah asked "what is it?"

"This will be my first project. What if I am unable to do it?"

"You will. Dont worry about that." Rebekah said confidently and then yawned and said "I am tired now. Dont your dare ever say again that I am not a good friend."

"I wouldnt." Camille smiled but with still doubt in her eyes. "Rebekah…."

"Hmm" as she stretched.

"What if daddy does not change his mind?"

"We will think of something else then. Just try to persuade him. Maybe you can persuade Shawn. He is after all your twin. Nothing is more stronger than the bond between you two."

Camille continued to look at her thoughtfully as she went to the bathroom.

* * *

While Camille was thinking about how to persuade her father to make her part of the team working on the new project, Caroline too was pacing in her room. She took a big sip of her drink thinking about the will, what she had been doing for the past two days. _Dad, you didnt do justice to me._ She kept repeating. _How could she get married in six months when she didnt even want to get married right now. Why would he do that? Ten percent? Is that worth getting married, letting go of her freedom which she values so much? Why give so much to Hayley?_ She huffed in anger and then told herself to pay attention to the situation she was in. She continued to pace in her room thinking about any way that she could get hold of that much share of company because she was intelligent enough to realize that even though her business was a success right now but still it will be stupid to ignore ten percent in this company. Maybe Klaus could give her some suggestions. Surely he wouldnt want to part with ten percentage of the company for which he had already done so much already. He will definitely come up with something.

* * *

Hayley had been unable to sleep for the past few hours so she got up, changed into sweat pants and a old worn shirt, made herself a cup of coffee, grabbed her jersey and stepped out of the guesthouse. For a few moments she stood on the steps admiring the dawn breaking over the horizon and the serenity of the environment and then she settled down on the steps.

* * *

Klaus grabbed his coffee as he went through the stock market update on his laptop. He looked up when he heard Caroline's grumpy voice "coffee.. coffee…"

Klaus gestured towards the coffee pot asking "did you not sleep well?"

"no I couldnt…. " she said as she put her head on the table "why did he do that?" she asked with her still down on the table.

"Care, I dont know. If I had known I would have stopped him from doing other things too. " He said feeling irritated. "Not that I dont like your presence but how long are you planning to stay?"

"Just a week or two more. I just miss him so much and I dont want to be alone right now and I dont think you should be alone too. How are you taking it by the way?"

"I am fine." He said stoically "Stay as long as you want. I was just thinking of your boutique business" hoping to distract her away from him and his damn feelings.

"Oh that is running smoothly. Elena and Bonnie are helping a lot especially now that they know that dad has passed away. I just want to stay here for sometime more."

He nodded and got up to leave but then said "it is Hope's appointment today. She is better now but I just wanted to make sure that she is doing okay so I got an appointment for her. I have send you an email about the time and location. Make sure you take her there."

"Alright" she said.

Caroline ideally looked at him as he walked out of the room holding his bag in one hand, his head bend as his gaze was fixed on his cellphone. Suddenly she sat up straight. Klaus…. Maybe Klaus ….but how? A business contract?! It happened and happens in their circle for business. That way they can keep the company within the family too. Hmm she should talk to him later. She thought as she continued sipping her coffee thinking about the pros and cons of her plan.

* * *

A gust of cold wind jerked her out of her thoughts. She suddenly realized that the sun was out bright and shinny, promising a nice pleasant day ahead, the coffee was finished and the empty cup was resting on the concrete floor. She shivered as she hugged herself to warm herself and then started to get up when she saw Klaus heading towards his car. She stood there looking towards him for a moment, her heart lurching and then she dashed towards him…. "excuse me Mr. Mikaelson."

He stopped, looked towards her and a frown appeared on his forehead but then he continued towards his car.

She cursed him in undertone but followed him saying "I need to talk to you Mr. Mikaelson" as he opened his car door and started to get in.

"What?" he said without giving her a glance.

"I know it is difficult for you these days but I wanted to know when can I join the office?" she asked swallowing any insult she felt at his behavior.

He stopped in the process of sitting in his seat, got out and said "I thought one million will take you far Ms. Marshall, surely a few months at least."

His words stung but she held her pride and said "I want to work and Ansel…"

"I know what he said" he snapped angrily "you made sure that he would say that."

She refused to give in to his bait and continued to stare at him for an answer.

He said curtly after an uncomfortable silence between them "Since I have to create a vacancy for you in the company, it will take more than half a day notice" he said sarcastically.

"I understand the predicament in your life but I have complete faith in your abilities" she replied sarcastically.

Hearing the sarcasm in her voice made him want to wring her neck but he told himself to keep his eyes on the prize. He said calmly "I am happy that you feel that way."

Hayley suddenly felt a prickle of discomfort as he overlooked her sarcasm. She could sense the danger heading towards her like an angry bull towards the red color so so she said "okay good. That is settled then. When do I expect your call?"

"In case you have forgotten my father just died and I have to deal with a lot of stuff at office so give me at least two days. I assure you that I can find something suitable for you." He replied as he kept his sharp eyes on her face taking in her features searching for that scar that he had witnessed a few days ago today hidden. Was it his imagination or was she hiding it?

She said "fine" ignoring his goading and turned back towards the guesthouse while he got in his car.

* * *

He was halfway to his office wondering about her qualification and the position he can offer her and then said "to hell with it. All the more reason to see her fail in this." Wondering about Kara he dialed Elijah's number. He asked after initial greetings.

"Elijah, you told me your PA was going on maternity leave. When is she leaving?"

"She left today. Some complication in her pregnancy. It is chaos here. HR has send temp until the replacement Anna had trained joins me in a month. She is new and does not know a thing" Hearing Elijah's aggrieved voice brought a smile to his lip and he said "well that is good news. You can loan Kara from me for a month."

"Why? Dont you need her?"

"No. Ms. Marshall will be working for me for a few weeks." He replied turning his car into his parking spot.

When he didnt here anything from Elijah for a few seconds he said "Elijah?"

"I can have Ms. Marshall instead of Kara. Your work will be disturbed. Kara knows your work."

Klaus felt a prickle of something which couldnt be jealousy he told himself. He said "No, I have to do this. Just for a few weeks. You use her for two weeks and then we will see what to do. I will send her to you tomorrow. You will not regret it."

Then without waiting for a response he disconnected Elijah wondering about his reaction to Elijah's proposal about Ms. Marshall. It would be so easy to send her there, he told himself as he walked towards the elevators. He was not obliged to keep her there. The only thing he was not allowed to go was fire her. Maybe he could persuade her to quit and start working for Elijah. No, A voice said startling him at the intensity of his reaction to this idea. Feeling confused and angry at himself he got out of the elevator.

* * *

She so wanted to see Hope that she hurriedly took a shower, freshen herself and went to sit in the living room hoping to get a glimpse of her. And then to her delight around mid afternoon she came out to play with her nanny. She got up slowly from her chair, wondered if she should go out and then determinedly she walked out to the garden and cautiously sat near the fountain at a distance from Hope with a book in her hand. From the corner of her eye she noticed Hope on her tricycle with Nessa pushing her. The strong urge to take over that task shook her but she didnt want to startle Nessa or spook Caroline whom she suspected was somewhere nearby. She continued to read the book while listening to chitter chatter of Hope with the nanny. The ringing on her cell startled her. She picked it up absently while keeping an eye on Hope "hello."

"I have found something suitable for you Ms. Marshall. if you are still interested come to the office tomorrow at 10 in the morning" his abrupt voice came from the other end of the phone.

"what…. oh… Of course I am interested." her voice rose in excitement.

There was silence for a moment and then "Eden..…."

"I am sorry. Did you say something?" Hayley asked with racing heart as she lowered her voice realizing her mistake.

"you sounded just like .. for a second…. anyway I will see you tomorrow."

* * *

Klaus sagged back in his chair cursing himself for putting himself through this torture. Eden.. Eden! He thought violently. He needed to move on. Stop looking for her in every woman. He told himself firmly and then feeling satisfied at what he had done he leaned forward and started reading the document he was reading before calling Hayley. Why delay the inevitable? She wanted a job. He wanted her to quit so get it over with as soon as possible. He smiled with satisfaction and pressed the button and said "Kara can you come in?"

A minute later when Kara entered the room he said "Kara I need a favor from you."

"What Mr. Mikaelson?"

"I need your job for a while?"

"What do you mean?" she asked in confusion.

"I have to give a job to someone for a month or even less time. But you dont worry. Elijah's PA has gone on her maternity leave a month early because of some complication and he needs someone diligent. Of course I thought about you. Who could be better for him than you? And that way when I want you back in a month there wouldnt be a problem. In the mean time his PA's replacement will join him. I guarantee you that you will have your job back in a month."

The smile remained on her lips even though confusion in her eyes "I trust you Mr. Mikaelson but can I ask something?"

"of course you can." He said as he looked towards her.

"Who is this job for?" she asked curiously.

"Ms. Marshall" he said in a soft voice.

"Oh." Was it his imagination that he saw a flare of anger on her face or …. "oh I understand that."

"I am holding you to your words Mr. Mikaelson. It is not about money, you know that. I like working for you. You are a very good boss." She gave him her charming smile that he had come to find comforting.

"I will give you a letter….if you dont trust me." he said jokingly.

"that will be nice assurance" she laughed mockingly but he could sense seriousness in her tone.

"Of course I can if that is what you want." She had been there for him for the past five year and she was an excellent worker whom he had no intention of losing so why not? He was going to get her back after all. He picked up his phone and dialed his lawyers number and said "Ben I need you in my office."

He smiled at Kara after putting the phone down "I will have that letter ready for you at the end of the day. Send Ben in when he comes" dismissing her.

She smiled, nodded and left the room.

A couple of hours later he was looking at the letter Ben had prepared for him.

"Are you sure you want to do this Klaus?" He asked "You are not obliged to promise her anything through a document. Getting a signed document will make it official."

"I know but I want her to feel secure leaving this job. She is an excellent EA."

"Then why give this job to Ms. Marshall?"

"It is just for a few weeks." He said dismissively as his eyes scanned the document and then he asked "is this necessary?" as he read the clause in the document.

"yes. That is for your safety net. If for some reason you are unable to give her her job back then…"

"That will not happen." He said confidently cutting him off "but this is good."

Ben nodded and then said "Okay I will leave you to it then" and left the office.

Klaus thought about it one last time and then rang Kara's number and said "bring me the coffee" as his eyes scanned through the legal terms and the promise he had made to her.

Ten minutes later door opened and Kara came in the room with a cup of coffee for him. He smiled at her and said "I will miss you but dont worry. You will be back before you know it. Thank you for doing this favor for me."

She smiled as she placed the coffee in front of him "I will miss working for you too. I have learned a lot from you."

"Here. As I promised." He put the letter in front of her. "Dont pay attention to the last part. That clause is just to cover law suits just in case. You know how these things work. We have to cover our backs. You will get your job back. This is just a loan."

She picked it up while he picked up his cup of coffee and walked towards the window thinking about working with Ms. Marshall and what would it be like.

"Is there any possibility of me not getting my job back?" She startled him out of his thoughts.

"No. Absolutely not." He said confidently.

"Four weeks then?" She asked

He turned towards her and nodded. She smiled and signed the document where he had already signed too.

"I will leave detail information for Ms. Marshall about your routine and how you like your coffee."

He thought for a moment and then said "no. There is no need. I will tell her" thinking excitedly about how spectacularly she will fail if she does not know what to do.

* * *

Hayley could hardly sleep that night due to excitement and anticipation of the nature of job. She as missing Ansel and the thought of going to the building where she had been working for him for the past one year brought tears to her eyes. Next day she dressed up very carefully making sure there was nothing that Klaus could find flaw in. The black knee length pencil skirt, black three inch pumps, sheer back leggings, a soft pink blouse and a black coat showing the blouse at the neck. She let her hair loose tumbling around her face. She carefully applied her makeup, making sure no scars were visible. Feeling satisfied with her appearance she left for the office. The security at the main floor said to her "Mr. Mikaelson has left a message for you."

"What?" she asked with frown.

"He wanted you to come straight to his office." The security guard said.

"Oh, Thank you." She said as she headed towards the elevators.

A few minutes later she was standing in the lobby outside his office.

"Come Ms. Marshall." He said as he gestured her towards the opened door.

"What am I doing here Mr. Mikaelson?" she asked in confusion as she looked around the office of his secretary.

"Your new job awaits you Ms. Marshall."

"Which is?" she asked with racing heart.

"You are going to be _my_ executive assistant."

"Yours?" she asked in shock and alarm bells started ringing. This was far from what she expected.

"Why? Do you have a problem with this?" he asked rather aggressively, the corners of his mouth pinched as he let the door close and walk towards her.

"What about Kara?" she asked grasping at straws.

"I had to let her go" he replied carelessly.

"Why… why?" she asked knowing well how much Klaus liked and was satisfied with his assistance.

"Well I was forced to create a vacancy Ms. Marshall. Did you really think that I had vacancies lying around?"

"I…. you shouldnt have done that" she said feeling panicky because she was getting a picture of what was behind that door.

"you think so? By any chance are you the CEO of this company?"

"You know what I mean. You have put a target on my back. She must be thinking that I took her job." She snapped and then bit her lips telling herself to calm down.

"A target? This is not a war zone Ms. Marshall but yes she must be thinking that. You have taken her job. My hands were tied."

"You told her that you were giving this job to me?" She asked incredulously.

"Of course I had to tell her to explain why I _had_ to let her go out of blue." he said casually.

Was it a smile she just witnessed on his face? She wondered.

She stared at the door not wanting to go in. He whispered so that only she could hear "Ms. Marshall my father has gone. I hope you were not expecting any special _treatment_ from me" laying emphasis on treatment.

Ignoring his bait, she smiled thinly and said "of course not."

She will not let him make her feel defeated.

"I was just wondering why are you willing to work with me?"

He laughed humorously and without turning "dont kid yourself Ms. Marshall. Not with you. You will work _under_ me."

"Why don't you give me a job in filing or something?" She asked curiously.

"and miss the opportunity of seeing you fail spectacularly? No way I will pass this opportunity" He held the door open and said "after you Ms. Marshall."

Feeling doubt filling her heart she entered the conference room.

Klaus said "hello everyone. I dont think any introductions are necessary as you all know each other but if any of you don't know Ms. Marshall then she used to be my father's PA but now that he has passed away Ms. Marshall _needed_ a job so she is going to be my assistant from today." walking toward the chair.

Hayley had taken a step inside the room when his words registered to her and she wanted to hit him with her bag. She told herself not to back down and took another step forward but stopped again when she noticed the stoic faces of her coworkers. She knew what they were thinking. She gathered all her wits and went to sit next to the seat she knew her husband occupied.

During the meeting as she was taking notes, she could see the harsh expressions on her co-workers faces. Her fury was increasing at Klaus but she will be damned if she let him know how his actions have affected her. She glanced at him as he confidently spoke about the salient points of the meeting. After what seemed like forever, the conference room started to get empty. She too started to get up when he said without looking towards her "I need you to compile the minutes of this meeting and come back to my office."

Knowing well that the instructions were for her, she said grinding her teeth "Anything else?" as she started to get up.

"No that will be all" he glared at her this time and said non-smilingly.

She got up and left the room and went to her new desk.

She looked around and then put her bag in the bottom drawer of the desk and turned on the computer. One of the advantage of working with Ansel was that she was familiar with the company and the softwares they used. Before she knew it she got sucked into her work and lost track of time. When she was done she got up, braced herself and went towards his office, scolding herself for letting herself allow to feel- feel anything from him and entered the room. He was talking to someone on the phone with his back towards the door. The moment she entered he turned towards her with a questioning look. She walked towards the desk and put the file on the desk. On a curt nod he turned back towards the window and continued listening to whoever he was talking. Figuring that she was dismissed she quietly left the room.

As she sat down on her chair, for the first time it sank in her mind that she was working for her husband, the husband who hated her and who threw her out of his life like an insect. And then she wondered if it was wise to work for him. It was one thing living in his property but another to spend so much time in his company. What if he saw something? What will happen to Hope if he recognizes her. Maybe she should quit. But… what about Hannah? She could get a job somewhere else. She thought. But where? She didnt even have a proper degree. Ansel gave her this job because he knew she needed it and Klaus has given her because he wants to see her fail. What if she leaves this job? Can she get a job like this somewhere else? Can she get a secure position somewhere else? No. She sighed knowing well that she didnt have many options. She looked around not knowing what to do now. With Ansel she had a routine and she had her work cut out for her but with Klaus she had no idea what was coming for her next and he had not even bothered to tell her anything. She leaned back but after a while she started to feel restless with the lack of work so she got up and started pacing in that small room looking at the paintings on the wall and within minutes she realized that she was looking at her husband's work. She jerked from her awe-struck thoughts when her intercom buzzed. She hurried towards it and picked up the cradle, took a deep breath taking care not to sound too excited and said "yes Mr. Mikaelson."

"Come in for a moment" just that and the connection was disconnected.

She shook her head and int to this office. He looked up for a moment and pushed the file towards her saying "Ms. Marshall you are working for me now and I dont expect mediocre work. I want you to redo this. I have pointed out the mistakes in them."

She stared at him and then opened her mouth to say something when he leaned back in the chair and his stance yelled at her to retaliate and she decided not to give him the satisfaction of that. She said "yes sir…" chocking on the word "sir" but picked up the file and left the office grinding her teeth all the way out.

Klaus continued to look at her back. As soon as she disappeared he picked up the phone again and said "arrange a meeting with Elijah for tomorrow."

"Right….umm right."

Hayley stared at the phone wanting to bang that phone on his head and wondered where could she get Elijah's office number. She started opening the desks and looking for some phone book or something where she could find the number. Hardly five minutes had passed when the intercom buzzed again. She swallowed a fowl name for him before picking up the phone. "Are you done with that document?"

"Not yet" she said trying not to panic.

"I needed that ten minutes ago." He said with annoyance.

"I will be there in fifteen."

As he disconnected the call. She said "to hell with Elijah" and started redoing the document. It took her twenty minutes to redo the document, getting a print out of it after she tried to figure out how the printer worked. When she entered his room with the latest version of the document he barked "you are late."

"I am sorry. The printer got stuck."

"Have you arranged the meeting with Elijah?"

"No. I…." she swallowed the curse and then said "I will do that right away."

She dashed out without saying another word. She sat there for a while wondering what to do now. She didnt have Elijah's number. She didnt have Klaus schedule for tomorrow. Where the hell is his appointment book or contacts information? She wondered. But she will be damned if she went to him to ask anything. After thinking for a while she called human resource and asked "do you have Kara Steven's number to contact her?"

"let me see."

A minute later she was writing down the number. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for any retaliation from Kara for taking her job as she dialed the number. After a couple of rings the phone got connected. She said "Ms. Stevens this is Ms. Marshall calling."

"Oh, Ms Marshall how very unexpected to hear from you. By the way congratulations on your new job."

"I am sorry you had to lose you job on my account." Hayley said feeling guilty but at this same time couldn't help feeling a tiny flicker of triumph at being treated like a vermin by the other woman during her marriage to Klaus. To this day she often wondered if Kara knew about the reality of her marriage to Klaus. After all she was his EA slash PA.

"I am sure you are" hearing the sarcasm in Kara's voice lit her but she chose to ignore it.

"Do you have Mr. Mikaelson number?"

"is this joke?" Kara asked in surprise.

Hayley was confused for a moment and then she hastily said "oh I meant Mr. Elijah Mikaelson."

"Of course. Yes."

Hayley ground her teeth at the silence from the other end but then she said "you must have left in a hurry so I would like you to send me the detail information about his schedule, his appointments details, contacts' information. Here is my email address" and then not caring if Kara was taking it down or not she dictated her email address.

"Alright" came a grudging response.

Was it hesitation she was hearing in her voice? Ignoring her suspicion she said "thank you" feeling annoyed at her for not leaving this information for her but then she told herself that she must be angry at losing her job. She suddenly wondered where she was working so she asked "Can I ask you something?"

"Yes?" came a bored response.

"Where are you working the days?"

"Mr. Mikealson's brother, Elijah Mikaelsson."

"Oh! Strange. Mr. Mikaelson didnt mention it. Anyway the number? Also Mr. Mikaelson would like to arrange a meeting with his brother tomorrow. Since you would know his schedule for tomorrow seeing that I am still not privy to his appointment book so kindly tell me an appropriate time he can arrange a meeting with Elijah" Hayley resorted.

After taking down his number she sat there for a moment steaming in anger wondering why would Klaus not tell her that Kara was working for Elijah. Wouldn't it have made her work easy?

But that is not what he wants. A voice reminded her. His intention is to see you fail. WOndering what to do until Kara comes back with the information about the meeting she looked at the time and realized that lunch time had passed. She sighed and sat down on her chair not wanting to leave now and giving Klaus a chance to say something about her work. After half an hour she checked her email and took a sigh of relief when she found the email regarding the information she had asked Kara to send her. She pursed her lips and then got up form her seat to tell him about his appointment utterly refusing to give him satisfaction of riling her up. When she came back she opened the file and familiarized herself with his schedule while counting the number of hours she had to spend there before she could get home to get a glimpse of Hope totally forgetting number of hours Klaus put at office during their marriage and totally forgetting that as long as he spend time in his office so did his EA.

* * *

Klaus stretched his arms and got up from his chair. It was getting dark. Suddenly a deep sense of loneliness and sadness took over which he had been successfully keeping at bay by keeping himself busy. He picked up his coat and started towards the door. He felt like saying something to Ms. Marshall as he passed her desk but then he continued towards the elevator without glancing towards her and crushing his libido down which had been really active throughout the day especially every time she came in his office. She had surprised him today. He had gone to extreme to make her want to say something but she had taken everything and produced the results without any retaliation. Well there is always tomorrow. He grimaced as he pressed the buttons.

* * *

Hayley kept cursing him throughout the drive to home. It was dark now and she had missed seeing Hope. By the time she got to her guesthouse she was so tired that she just wanted to sleep. She laid on her bed thinking about the day at the office and wondered how would she be able to spend time with Hope if her work is going to be like today. How is it possible to keep working in this close proximity with Klaus without killing him or continue to control her feelings for him? It was one thing to see him occasionally but seeing him every day, how will she survive it? She knew he was punishing her and wanted her defeated. She knew he wanted her to quit seeing that he couldn't get rid of her. Suddenly a thought struck her and she sat up on her bed. Did Kara use to work these long hours with him too? Was she the reason Klaus had been so detached the last few months of their marriage? Were they more than co-workers? A sadness gripped her heart but then she shook her head, told herself firmly to stop thinking about Klaus and laid back again wondering if she was destined to see her children grow from afar. Her heart ached to hold Hope, cuddle her. For the first time she started suspecting if there was another motive for Ansel's demand of giving her a job in the company. What other motive? She wondered and then she laughed out loud when a voice said "maybe he wanted you to reconcile with Niklaus?" Now you are stretching. She told herself. He just wanted her to have stability so that she can have a future for Hannah and Hope. What better place to ensure that than his own company? Dont dwell on his motives. Just remember that at least you are close to Hope. See her everyday. She laughed at the humor in their situation. She was his wife a while back and now she was his assistant. She had not improve her status in his eyes. In any case she knew that she would not let Klaus see any weakness in her.

* * *

"Come in" he said when he heard the knock on his door.

"Klaus I want to talk to you?" Caroline said to him when he looked up.

"What is it?"

"I was thinking about the will …"

"not now Care…" he started as he took off his tie and flung it at the chair.

She walked to it, picked it up and went to hang it.

"Listen… I need that ten percent. I want my share."

"Then get married. You need to start taking you life seriously." he snapped as she sat down to take off his shoes.

She looked towards him while hanging his tie. "I am… How does not wanting to get married show that I am not taking my life serious. I am happy with my life. I have a successful business… but I want share in the company too."

"Caroline…"

"Listen what dad did…. putting the condition of marriage to get me my ten percent. I have a solution for it."

"I am all ears" he said sarcastically.

Ignoring his sarcasm she said "if we get married…"

"we?" he paused in the process of taking off his wrist watch and looked towards her.

"you and I…"

At the dumbstruck expressions on his face she said carelessly "Oh it will just be a marriage on paper. We can get married … a business contract like….."she hesitated for a moment and then continued "like you had with Eden."

Without warning his expressions become thunderous and he said icily "have you lost your mind?"

"Why not? We can get an annulment after the marriage."

"it has to be a proper marriage." He grounded wanting to wring her neck.

"how do you know?" She asked doubtfully.

"Did you read that document Alexander left for us?"

"No…" she said in confusion "what does it say?"

"That it has to be real marriage." he repeated. "so I am out."

Seeing a speculative look on her face he said "dont even say that Caroline. _Out_ " He uttered the last word loudly.

"Please think about it. I have a lot to lose. Also you will benefit from it too."

"I don't want any benefit from this."

"If we get married, the company stays with us. But if I marry someone else that he becomes part of company too. Do you want strangers to take some part of it when you worked so hard for the past three years to get majority of its shares?"

When he continued to remain quiet she said again "Klaus think about it. It will be marriage on paper only."

"No… now leave I am very tired. I am going to take a shower. When I come out you shouldn't be here."

Without looking towards her again he headed towards the bathroom.

Next morning when he reached his office he stopped as he saw Hayley already at her seat. She looked up at that moment. "Good morning" Hearing her chirpy greeting rose his temperature at the lack of control on his own body. Damn. He said to himself as he said "good morning Ms. Marshall. I am surprised to see you here so early."

"Why?" she asked innocently "Did you think that I would have run away after yesterday?"

"I would be lying if I said that didnt cross my mind. You surprised me." He said.

"Thank you" she said refusing to give him satisfaction at what he was insinuating.

Klaus smirked but then without saying anything went in his office. Soon he was lost in his emails and phone calls to think about Ms. Marshall. By mid afternoon he was neck deep in his work only to be interrupted quietly by her for a cup of coffee a few times and for dictations.

He stretched his legs for the first time in a few hours when the door opened and two blonde women entered the room. Making a point of talking to Hayley about not letting anyone in without talking to him first he walked to them and said "Rebekah…. I had no idea you were visiting."

Rebekah smiled and said "that is because if you did, you would have avoided us. I know you Nik. But first tell me when did Ms. Marshall started working for you?"

"Yesterday" Klaus murmured as he stepped back.

"Hmm" Rebekah said lost in thought for a moment but then said "hey you remember Camille right? She came back from France last week and wanted to meet you."

He forced a smile as his gaze went to Camille whom he had recognized in an instant. She had turned even more beautiful and graceful but for some reason it didnt affect him like Ms. Marshall's presence affected him these days. He said "Of course I remember Camille. How are you? It has been what? two years right?"

"Three" she smiled as she looked at him and then around the office. "I thought of seeing you guys before joining the office next week. Also I wanted to say my condolences to your father's death."

"Thank you. Come sit." He said as walked back to his seat. Seeing Camille after so long felt weird. He had known her since she and Rebekah became friends in elementary school when she and her twin brother used to live with their grandparents in Mystic Falls and once he had entertained the idea of getting married to her. She was everything a man wanted in a wife and once she was going to be a ticket for him to start his own business but then Eden's father set his plan in motion ruining Klaus plans. And he had stupidly fallen in love with Eden and now every woman was ruined for him. Except for Ms. Marshall… A voice said. He was so shocked at that realization that he stopped a step away from his seat but then he turned back to Camille when she said "you must miss him a lot. It is a shame."

"yes" he said not wanting to discuss anything about his father with anyone.

Maybe she sensed his hesitation so she said "Daddy told me that he is starting a project with you. I am going to be part of that too and am looking forward to working with you."

Klaus smiled and said "that will be nice. I look forward to working with you. Coffee?"

"Actually…" Rebekah started as he lifted the intercom "we were thinking of stealing you for an hour or so and take you out for coffee."

"Rebekah, I have loads of work to do."

"Have you had lunch?"

"No. Not today. Maybe some other day and definitely before Camille leaves."

Rebekah started "Nik you need to …"

"I know what I need to do" he added steely. "Now go and let me do work."

He knew that he was being rude but he was beyond caring.

As soon as they left he picked up the intercom and said "come in Ms. Marshall."

A minute later she entered the room with a notepad in her hand.

He said crossly as he gestured her to sit down "next time ask me before letting anyone meet me."

"your sister said that you were expected them" She said sweetly.

For some reason Klaus knew that she was lying.

Her green eyes were challenging him to retaliate and for some weird reason that was arousing him-his pants were suddenly feeling tight to him all of a sudden. He needed to do something, anything to keep himself busy, to stop looking at her so he got up and walked around his desk so that her back was towards him now and started pacing.. He abruptly stopped and said "Tell me Ms. Marshall. Why are you wasting your precious time in actually trying to earn handful of dollars? Isn't one million enough for you?"

She told herself to keep quiet and started to count backwards from hundred- a trick she had learned during her therapy sessions.

When she didnt say anything he continued wanting to press all of her buttons "I bet you didn't think this through when you wound my father around pretty fingers."

She abruptly stood up, turned to him and said angrily "if there is nothing else I should go back. I have tons of work to do before I leave."

"You leave when I tell you to." He said arrogantly.

Suddenly she lost her tempter and said "that is not in my job description."

"and what is your job description? Do you even know that? I bet it was quite different when you were with my father. You must have thought that you would get the same job benefits as you got from my father but make no mistake…"

Hayley said angrily "oh I am sure I will not make any mistake about anything regarding you. I know men like you Mr. Mikaelson. You see I was married to one." As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she bit her tongue but he had gathered what she was saying.

The accusation pierced him like a knife but then it hit her what she had said "I didnt know you were married."

"Because it is none of your business" she snapped and started to leave when he grabbed her arm shocking both of them. Ignoring the shock at his own action he asked "what happened to your husband?"

She resorted angrily "he is dead. Now leave me alone!"

But he didnt let go of her arm, just continued to look at the green eyes spitting fire wondering if the child she had one admitted to him about died with her husband too. Thinking of Hope and the possibility of losing her made his heart ache for her to his annoyance.

Hayley said annoying while struggling to free herself with no success "if you dont let go of my arm, I am going to scream."

He was so shocked at her reply that he let her go. Sudden release of his grip caused her to stumble which he tried to prevent by reaching out to her but she stopped him by saying "dont!" and stormed out of the room.

The moment her back disappeared, to his surprise a shocked laugh escaped his throat.


	8. Holding on

**_A/N: Sorry took me a long time to write this chapter. Had been a crazy week. Anyway here it is, longer too :). Hopefully you guys like it. Some of you want to know if Hayley will remain Klaus's assistant for long. Not really._**

 ** _Synopsis: Hayley and Klaus relationship is facing new challenges. Hayley is asked on a date. Klaus meets his ex-father in law._**

* * *

She was breathing fast to control her anger which seemed to be bursting inside her. When she reached her desk she wanted to throw something at him but she realized that she could. She looked up and her gaze fell on his paintings and she wondered maybe his painting. Maybe she should just destroy it. She picked up the paper cutter but then after holding it for a while she put it down and took deep breath now regretting her outburst about her husband being dead. Her heart squeezed in her chest at the very thought of him dying. Some words are never meant to be spoken even more so thought. A shiver went through her body at the very thought of him dying. She stared at the intercom which was ringing. She jumped as her mind registered the sound. She grabbed it and almost barked "yes."

"Come in" his curt voice came and then disconnect.

Hayley huffed at his arrogance but then went back in his office.

He continued to look at her for a moment and then said "I have to attend a charity gala for Amandas on Friday. Kara was supposed to go…."

"No." Hayley said curtly before he could even continue.

He leaned back and his eyes gleamed with danger. She knew she was baiting him but she didnt care. She had been waiting for the weekend to spend time with Hope.

When he continued to stare he said "we will leave at eight Friday evening. Wear something _nice_."

"I said no" Hayley repeated steaming in anger fisting her fist so tight that her nails were biting into her skin.

"You will. Now you can go. I dont need you." He said as he started reading his email again.

Hayley continued to glare at him, glanced at the paper weight on the table when he looked up and spoke softly "don't even think about it."

She felt drained all of a sudden, turned and was at the door when he said "go home Ms. Marshall."

She turned back to him but then she left seeing him bend over his work.

An hour later she was having her dinner thinking about Klaus and their interactions at the office during the past two days. She knew he was pushing her. He wanted her to quit and she realized that if he continued on this path she will eventually quit. Suddenly she realized with a jolt that they had interacted more openly in these two days than they had during their marriage. She felt a tingling in her thighs and the center of her core. Feeling restlessly and annoyed she got up and went to stand near the window of the living room leaving her dinner behind and then her heart lurched when she saw Hope playing in the garden. She looked around and found no Nessa there. Her gaze went to the pool and even though it was covered she became wary and decided to go out to keep an eye on Hope. She picked up her book and walked out of the guesthouse. Her eyes were fixed on Hope when she stumbled and fell on the concrete driveway. She ran to her and picked hr up. Her forehead was bleeding and she was crying hard. She hurriedly carried her to the guesthouse, took her to the kitchen, sat her down on the marble top and cleaned her forehead with a wet paper towel. Hope's tears were running down her eyes on her cheek clutching her heart. Hayley said soothingly "hush baby, everything will be okay. See I am putting the bandaid on it."

"I want daddy" Hope sobbed

Hayley said "he is at the office right now honey. I will call him in a minute. Where is aunt Caroline and Essa?"

"Nessa went inside to get my doll. I dont know where is aunt Care?" she continued to cry and She wiped her eyes and looked around when her gaze fell on the cookies she had taken out to take with her coffee.

Hayley followed her gaze and asked "do you want the cookies?"

Hope nodded shyly.

Klaus said "are you sure replacing Shawn with Camille is a good idea?"

"Yes. The project has not started yet so why not."

"It is just that I have worked with Shawn and our styles are similar. Camille is new. I want someone who is good."

"you wouldnt regret your decision Klaus. I agree Camille is new in the field but she is not green. She is full of bright ideas. Just work with her this week while she is there. Familiarize her with the project and decide what you want to do."

"O'Connell…." he stopped talking when his heard his cell buzzed. He strolled to his desk and at one glance he realized that he had missed five calls from Caroline. Realizing that it must be important since she knew that she was not to disturb him during the office hours he picked up the cell and said to O'Connell "O'Connell I will call you in a minute. I have a call from home."

"Oh no problem. Anyway I am done Niklaus. Just give Camille a chance."

"Alright." He said now distracted as his cell continued to buzz. He put the cell against his ear as he disconnected the call to O'Connell and started "what…" but Caroline was almost shouting "where the hell were you? I have been calling you for a long time."

Immediately he knew that something was very wrong so he asked "what is it?" already heading towards the door.

His heart stopped when Caroline's panicky voice came "Klaus Hope…."

"what happened?" he asked in panic.

"She has been missing for the past half an hour. She was playing outside and Nessa just came in for a minute and she disappeared."

"I am on the way. Have you called the police?"

"No… not yet. I was not sure what to do."

"Call them." He barked as he entered the elevator.

He didnt know how he reached home without causing an accident but he was already getting out of the car even before the he had shut off the engine. Wild thoughts about Hope were forming in his mind, the thoughts he didnt want to contemplate.

Hayley was reading to Hope when she heard the police sirens. She looked down and realized that Hope had drifted off to sleep. She gently shifted her on the sofa, got up and walked to the door and looked out and her heart stopped when she saw a police car in the driveway. After making sure she was still sleeping Hayley stepped outside.

As she stepped out her first sight was Klaus who was looking very anxious. She took a deep breath and then realized with a start that it was sigh of relief. He was talking to Caroline who was wringing her hands saying something and Nessa was standing at a distance crying. "What is going on?" she wondered. And then as if there was a connection between them, he looked towards her. She wanted to go and ask him what happened but then she told herself that his life was not thing to do with her.

The police officer said "Mr. Mikaelson while my colleagues are looking around the premises I need to know if you have any enemies."

His thoughts went to James for some reason but before he could say anything Caroline said "who would want to kidnap a little girl? The gates are locked and no one can come in."

"We have to cover all our basis Ms. Stantson." The officer said.

"How many people live in this house?" The police officer asked.

"Five including Hope. Two helper. Joseph and Maria."

"Six." He muttered as he ran his hand at the back of his neck anxiously and his eyes went to the spot where he had seen Hayley a minute ago but she was not there anymore. "Why are you wasting time…"

"who is the sixth one?" The officer asked him ignoring his demand.

"Ms. Hayley Marshall. She is my executive assistant and friend to the family. She lives in the guesthouse." Klaus said feeling restless now as he scanned the grounds from his spot hoping to spot Hope.

"Do you mind if we start from there then?" The officer asked.

Klaus said without any hesitation "She wouldnt harm Hope. Have you asked her, Caroline?"

"No. Isnt she in the office at this time of the day?" Caroline asked in confusion.

"No, she came home early" Ignoring Caroline's suspicious look Klaus darted to the guesthouse.

He banged at the door thinking of Hope.

A moment which looked like infinity the door opened and Hayley asked "what happened?"

"Is she with you?" He asked anxiously.

"Who?"

"Hope. Who else? Please tell me she is with you." He said pleading her to tell him that his daughter was safe with her and not with a lunatic.

"Yes she is in."

Relief washed over him which a second later was replaced with extreme anger and desire to wring her neck "are you out of your mind?"

"Ms. Marshall, will you please step out?" The police officer had followed him without his knowledge and was talking to Hayley.

"What is going on?" Hayley asked in confusion.

Klaus rushed in and then took a deep breath as he noticed Hope lying on the sofa sleeping with a bandaid on her forehead. He rushed to her and picked her up, hugging her tightly causing her to wake up. He shushed her to go back to sleep as he walked out of the guesthouse..

He said "I am sorry officer Micheal. It seems there have been a confusion."

Hayley was now starting to tremble now having some idea what had happened. She had not been able to get in touch of Nessa and they thought Hope was missing. Oh no! She should have called them, anyone. All this trouble because of her and her absence of mind.

Officer Micheal continued to look towards Hayley thoughtfully and then nodded saying "Ms. Marshall you are lucky that Mr. Mikaelson is not placing charges against you."

When the officers left, Klaus said to Caroline who was staring at Hayley angrily "take Hope in the house."

After making sure that they were only two of them there he turned towards her.

Hayley could see thunder on his face and she knew she had made a mistake. She shrank back from him and said "Mr. Mikaelson I am sorry. I never realized it would cause such a big deal. Hope fell down .…" she paused when he continued to remain quiet and then she said desperately "please say something. I am really sorry."

"Ms. Marshall you stay away from my daughter. Do you understand?"

"I … she fell down and I just…" His anger was making it impossible for her to explain a simple mistake.

"Did you hear what I said?"

"Yes." Hayley said reeling in guilt at the chaos she had unintentionally caused.

He gritted through his teeth "is this the revenge for my forcing you to go to that function?"

His accusation threw her overboard and she snapped "I dont give a damn about the function to which I am not even going. I would never …"

"O come now Ms. Marshall we both know what you are capable of but I was hoping that you would never show me that side of yours but you have crossed the line when you decided to punish me for …."

"And here I thought you didnt care about your daughter." The words were out before she could stop them and he had finished what he was going to say.

She jumped back when she saw a muscle tick in his jaw and he took a step towards her.

"Stay away from her Ms. Marshall."

"Then make sure her nanny is efficient." Hayley said boldly "if she is in need I will…"

"No you will not. She is not your daughter. She is mine." Klaus thundered now an inch from her.

Hayley felt as if he had slapped her. She said softly "I know she is your daughter but I would never let a child suffer and not help them."

Klaus felt all the air being sucked out of his lungs. He couldn't breath for a second and then he smelled gardenias shocking him into presence. He turned and started to leave because to his immense horror he realized that if he stayed any longer he was going to kiss her.

His hand was on the door handle when he heard her say "why do you hate me so much?"

He became very still. For a moment he felt like bursting at her for confusing him. He wanted to ask her what she was doing to him because he didnt understand it. He didnt understand why she was getting under his skin. What did he really feel about her? How could he explain that to her or even to himself. He turned and walked back to her and said "hate means I have feelings for you Ms. Marshall. You give yourself far too much credit if you think that I have _any_ sort of feelings for you."

He regretted the moment the words were out as he saw her getting blanched.

She whispered "get out. Get out of my house."

Klaus wanted to apologize but he turned and left feeing regretful of what he had said.

Hayley stood there for a a very long time telling herself not to get upset by what Klaus had said to her but she was not successful and she went to bed early with the same feeling.

He dashed into the house and climbed the stairs two at a time and dashed to Hope's room. She was being tucked in her bed by Caroline with red-eyed Nessa standing at the head of the bed. He walked to her and said sternly "if she goes to Ms. Marshall again I will get a new nanny. Do you understand Ms. Carmical?"

"I am sorry Mr. Mikaelson. I just came in for a minute and …."

"You are not to leave her ever again even for half a minute. Do you understand?" he thundered so much even Caroline cowered while Nessa was in tears.

He was pacing in his room angrily wanting to forget that blanched look on her face when he suddenly realized that he had come from the office. He looked at wrist watch and realized that he was late for his meeting with Elijah. He sighed and dialed his number "Elijah where are you?"

"Heading towards your office." Elijah said.

"Let do it tomorrow at some time. Something came up and I wouldnt be able to make it." He didnt feel like leaving the house after what happened today. He didnt trust Ms. Marshall not to do something cheap again.

"Sure. Everything alright?"

Smiling at the last part.

"Yes everything alright. Lets meet after seven tomorrow, any time you are available. I am not sure about my schedule for rest of the day but I am sure I dont have anything after seven."

Elijah replied "I think I'll be free around eight so lets make it 8:30."

Next evening Hayley was cursing Klaus for keeping her so late again and then in anger she decided to leave since he had not bothered to talk to her properly since morning. He was in a fowl mood and except for necessary talk he was not indulging in any talk and he was being rude to her to no extent. As she took out her purse from the drawer she heard a voice "hello Ms. Marshall."

She looked up to see Elijah smiling down at her and then out of blue she remembered that it was with him that Klaus had conspired to make her look adulterous. It was not possible that Elijah was not involved in that scheme of his. She cursed herself for forgetting it and instead she was getting upset at what he had said yesterday or his treatment of her. It had hardly been three days and she had already forgotten what had happened between them. How could she? She thought angrily.

Kara stared at her with thin smile and said "Mr. Mikaleson is expecting us."

Hayley looked down in the appointment book but found no information so she said "let me tell him."

Perhaps Elijah saw confusion on her face so he said "Actually yesterday's appointment got delayed because of some personal reasons so we decided on this meeting last night. Trust me he is expecting us" Elijah said smilingly ending mockingly before Kara could say something.

Hayley flushed remembering the chaos that she had caused unknowingly. Then as if on cue her intercom rang and it was him saying "Ms. Marshall my brother will be here in some time. Send them in."

"They are here." She said curtly feeling annoyed at herself for feeling left out.

"Okay. Send them in and you better come in too. We have loads to discuss." Came his curt reply and she control the urge to shake him and commas some respect from him. Yes she had made a mistake. Was it necessary for him to continue torturing her. Torturing? She jerked in her seat as she hastily put the cradle down and wondered what was happening to her. This man deceived her. He dishonored her despite the fact that she was mother of his child.

"Ms. Marshall." Kara's voice brought her back to present and she hastily picked up her notepad and said "yes please come in" and led the way in.

Klaus looked up and his gaze met Hayley's. There was something on her face which he couldnt comprehend. He stood up, smiled at Kara said "hello Kara. How are you?"

Kara smiled back saying "I am fine Mr. Mikaelson. I hope you are missing me." And then she looked towards Elijah apologetically saying "I am sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

Elijah laughed and said "dont worry Kara I know you enjoy working for my brother."

"It is not just that. I love Falcon Industries. And I cannot imagine not working for it." She smiled as she at down on the seat opposite Klaus.

"I miss you too Kara." Klaus said with a smile "Elijah I want my assistant back when you get your new assistant."

Hayley looked at him and caught him looking at her and she knew instantly that it was all for her benefit. Refusing to give in to her bait she smiled vowing herself that she will never quit and give him that satisfaction. Before anyone could continue Elijah asked "Ms. Marshall what are you planning to do after Kara comes back?"

"I have not decided yet. Maybe Mr. Mikaelson will not want to let me go in a few weeks" she said sweetly.

Elijah laughed "well Kara it seems that your job is in danger."

Hayley caught Klaus and Kara exchange a look and her heart fell as she realized that they both knew that she will be gone by the end of the month and she swore inwards and then turned towards Elijah saying "but if he lets me go then maybe I can fill in Kara's position at your .…"

"Let start the meeting" Klaus cut her off angrily. Hayley turned towards him and saw him blazing in fury.

She opened the notepad and looked up just in time to see them exchange a look again and her heart sank further. She hastily looked towards Elijah and caught him looking at her. Ignoring the panic that rose in her heart seeing the naked desire in his eyes she looked down and started taking notes. For the next hours she was busy taking down the notes.

"Ms. Marshall we are done here. You can leave. But before you go bring some coffee for us." Klaus said as he stood up and stretched his legs. Hayley couldnt help look as his body uncoiled and straighten.

She said "of course" with a tight smile and left the room.

A few moments later she came in the room with three cups of coffee and caught him laughing at something Kara was saying while there was no sign of Elijah. Something crushed in her at seeing him so relaxed which she was never privy to unless when they were in bed. As she watched Kara put her hand on the table just touching Klaus's fingers. She wanted to break her hand. The intensity of that desire was so strong that she cursed herself and coughed. The smile died from his lips instantly and a hollow feeling started in her stomach and she tried to hold on the feeling when she had realized that Klaus had sabotaged her.

She put the coffee cups in-front of them and turned to leave when she heard a cell ringing. She startled when Klaus said "Ms. Marshall I think that is yours."

Hayley looked back at him with a blank look and then his words registered and she dashed out to her room.

Through the open door he could see her back stiffening as she was talking to someone on her cell. The way her shoulders were getting tense with each second made him want to take away that phone from her and deal with whoever was on the other end. But then she put the phone down, walked back in the room as Kara was handing him his coffee "Mr. Mikaelson your coffee…"

Hayley stared at how cozy Kara and Klaus were looking. 'Were they having an affair?' Something broke and she realized that it was her own heart and she marveled at her weakness at still feeing broken at the the thought of her husband having an affair. He thinks you are dead. A voice said.

"Oh coffee. Good. Ms. Marshall are you joining us?" Elijah said as he walked towards the desk.

"No Mr. Mikaelson. I have to leave." She said stiffening thinking about what Dani had told about her father.

"Ms. Marshall are you alright" Kara asked "you are very pale."

"Oh I am just tired. I think I should leave. Good… Good night everyone" She said hurriedly and left.

 _'your father is in Mystic Falls princess.'_ She headed towards the elevator on wobbly legs. He is here. He is in Mystic Falls. If he is here he will be visiting Klaus and she.. she will have to face him.

Klaus startled when Elijah said "I should be leaving too Niklaus. Kara I can drop you."

"Mr. Mikaelson I have to go on a dinner. My friend is picking me up from here. Thanks for the offer."

"Alright then. I am off Niklaus." Saying that he left.

Klaus backed up the car from his partaking spot when he saw Kara standing on the walkway. He got out and said "I thought you would have gone by now. Wasn't your friend picking you up?"

"Mr. Mikaelson! Yes he was supposed to pick me up but he just called and said that he can't come. My car was at the workshop and I was just about to call the taxi…"

"There is no need. Come. I will drop you. Come." Klaus said.

Hayley was halfway home when she realized that she had left her purse at the office. She cursed and decided to go back since she couldn't continue driving without the license and she could do with new complications in her life right now. The moment she reached her office building her heart stopped when she saw Kara getting into Klaus's car. She didnt know how long she stood there but then someone asked her "Ms. Marshall did you forget something."

"Ye… yes I forgot my purse up there." She walked towards the elevator telling herself that she shouldn't be bothered about what Klaus is doing now. He is dead to her and she is dead to him. He will naturally have moved on. But by the time she had laid on her bed she was unable to get rid of that sinking feeling and that intense possessiveness she was feeling towards Klaus.

And if that thought was not plaguing her mind it was her father's presence in Mystic Falls that was panicking her. The very thought of facing him was making her sick. Firmly pushing him, Kara and Klaus's cozy interaction out of her mind she closed her eyes and then she started to wonder what went wrong in her plan. It was supposed to be simple. Ansel gave her the guesthouse and she was going to be close to Hope. But it turned out that she was working for her husband eight to eight every day and she was forbidden to see her own daughter and on top of that she has to see her husband flirting with his ex-executive assistant. Was she in the conspiracy too of proving her disloyal? She wondered. You are a very good actor Niklaus Mikaleson. She said to herself as she recalled his anger the night he had confronted her about those pictures. He had sounded like grieved party. And all of them were on it. Elijah must be on it for sure. And Kara might be too. She was always and still very close to him. Was it worth working for him when she was not even getting time to spend time with Hope? It was time to get over her ego and leave that company. It was pure torture to stay in his company.

Next morning she had hardly put her purse in the drawer when her intercom buzzed. She picked it up but before she could say anything he barked "Ms. Marshall you are late. Come in the conference room" and then a disconnect tone.

She stared at the intercom angrily. Looking at her wrist watch she realized that she was only five minutes late. She picked up her notepad and went in the conference room and then stopped in her track when she encountered half a dozed well-dressed people looking at her. She gulped wondering what has she walked onto but then holding her head high she walked to the seat next to Klaus and sat down next to him. Not allowing herself to get angry at Klaus for not telling her about the meeting she looked towards the group of strangers. After introductions the conference started. Within five minutes she realized that it was his new project with shipping tycoon O'Connell. There was one young women among the group of six and she was stunning with a very smiling and friendly face. Within next hour she was sure about one thing that Camille O'Connell wanted more than being colleague to her husband and she went through the roof thinking about the number of the women wanting to be _friends_ with her husband. He is not your husband anymore. He is Eden's husband. A small voice protested. Oh shut up. She firmly told the voice that kept reminding her that. He is my husband even if he does not know who I am. It was taking all her will power not to pounce at the woman sitting across her giving her husband those flirty looks. One glance at Klaus and she wanted to break his face too.

Klaus was lost in the discussion with the executive from Titans Shipping Cooperation when he causally turned towards Hayley sitting next to him and seeing that frown on her face made him follow the gaze and he caught Camille looking at him. Looking back towards Hayley he started to suspect the reason for the frown but he dismissed it and then he just wanted to see her uncomfortable so he smiled at Camille and asked her "are you having any problems catching up Cami?"

"Oh no Klaus. I am catching up quickly. Thank you." Camille replied smilingly.

Hayley bend her head down on her notepad telling herself _'this is the man who betrayed you by conspiring with his brother and his PA. Dont torture yourself. Are you really naive to think that he had be celibate for the past two years. Dont be too sure that he was even loyal to you during your wedding. Get over yourself if you think that he would be loyal to you after his father twisted his arm to marry you.'_

 _"_ Ms. Marshall" a voice startled him. She looked up and caught everyone staring at him. Wonderful! She was daydreaming during a conference. Now she has given him a chance to talk about her performance.

"Ms Marshall do you have a question?"

"umm no." Not sure what was asked of her. The moment the words were out she knew she had made a mistake because Klaus's face was flaming.

"I think we are done here today. I have another meeting in half an hour. We can continue next week." Klaus said as he got up angrily.

Gradually everyone started to leave. Hayley decided to take refuge by leaving with them but his voice stopped him. "Ms. Marshall next time refrain from daydreaming during the meetings."

She nodded, apologized and started to leave when he said "tomorrow we will discuss this in detail since you are new to this project. Kara was very familiar with it."

Damn. But tomorrow she was going to spend time with Hope,. Somehow….. That is it. She is not doing this anymore. Time to move on. What is the point of all this if she couldn't even see her daughter over the weekends. She was at her wits end. Klaus was making it really difficult to find time to spend with Hope not to mention making a really really uncomfortable environment of her to work here. She was not even enjoying this work any more so why torture herself not to mention him seeing flirting with women right and left. After being dismissed she walked to her desk and started typing her resignation letter.

Klaus picked up the intercom at around five wanting to remind Hayley about the charity party when the door opened and she walked in.

His heart skipped a beat when he recalled her expressions when she caught Camille looking at him and he toyed with the possibility of her being jealous.

"What is this?" he asked as she put a paper on the desk.

"my resignation" she replied.

"tusk tusk. Barely four days?" he asked sardonically as he leaned back on his chair.

"Four were more than enough working with you" she replied sarcastically.

He waited anxiously for the feeling of triumph to come but it never did. Pushing that feeling of disappointment down, deep down, he leaned forward and opened her letter and started reading it. Each word was multiplying his anger. His ear went up in smoke when he read her calling a slave driver. No one dared to do such a thing. He looked up and saw her defiant face and suddenly didnt want to give in to the satisfaction that she had gotten to him but then suddenly he didnt want her to quit- the very thing he had been trying her to do but he couldnt let her work there. He was in a fix. He didnt want to lose his face in front of her. It had to be her decision so he said "Good. Your resignation is accepted but you will work till the end of the next week. Kara will not be available till the end next week."

Seeing a smile on his lips made her very annoyed as she realized that he was basking in the glory of his win and suddenly she didnt want him to win. She leaned forward and took the letter back saying defiantly "I have changed my mind. I dont want to quit."

He looked up at the defiance on her face and said "well there is always tomorrow. I am sure you will quit in near future."

She snapped "dream on it."

"I will…." he said smilingly.

Hayley bared her teeth and started to turn when he said "Oh Ms. Marshall?"

When she looked towards him, he saw signs of exhaustion and then unexpectedly a twinge of guilt took over. He said "be ready at eight Ms. Marshall."

"For what?" she asked in confusion.

Klaus said "the charity I have been invited too."

"Do I need to go?" This time there was no doubt about exhaustion.

He looked up and said with a smirk "of course." When she didnt say anything else he continued "is there any problem Ms. Marshall?" when she still continued to be quiet he asked " is there any one at home waiting for…" but he couldn't continue as she turned to leave saying "I will be ready."

Klaus gritted his teeth wanting to suddenly wanted her to be in the same room and talk to her, even if that meant goading her but she had already turned and left the room leaving him feeling annoyed with his feelings.

Hayley put on her dress steaming in anger. Again she missed an evening with Hope. Hope was asleep by the time she had come home and now she has to go to this party with him. Why didnt she tell him to go to hell? Why? Why is she letting herself be forced by him? If only … if she could quit but if she quits, he wins and she couldn't let him win. She couldn't lose. She had to think about what was at stake here. So what if she has to the party. In any case Hope was asleep. She wouldn't have been able to spend time with her. Tomorrow… tomorrow she will come up with something. She angrily applied the makeup when her cell rang. Wondering who could it be she picked the phone and said "hello" as she applied the lipstick.

"Hello Ms. Marshall. This is Elijah Mikaleson. I hope I am not catching you at a bad time."

"Mr. Mikaelson…. where did you get this number from?" She asked putting the lipstick down carefully.

He laughed and continued "Niklaus was right about one thing Ms. Marshall. Kara is very resourceful."

"Oh… " she said glancing at her reflection and fluffing her hair nervously.

"What can I do for you?" she asked.

"Actually there is something I need from you" Elijah sounded hesitant.

"What?"

"I was wondering if you will be willing to go to diner with me tomorrow."

Hayley stared at her reflection for a few dumb seconds startling when she heard him calling her name.

"As in date?" she asked stunned by what he was saying.

"Yes" he replied.

"Mr. Mikaelson, I am sorry. I am busy tomorrow." She replied curtly. "Now I have to go. Good night" and then without listening to him further she disconnected the call and realized that she was trembling. How dare he ask her on date? Does she realized that he is asking his brother's wife… She suddenly paused in the process of thinking. What are you doing? You are dead to him. How can you still think of yourself as his wife. Suddenly she felt really nervous about going out with him and hastily started to take off her earrings. She picked up her cell to call him to cancel…. make an excuse, any excuse. Maybe he can still take Kara with him. After all she just left him. No. A fierce reaction erupted from somewhere inside her chest. Her thoughts were confused when she heard a bell. For a moment she wondered if she could ignore him and then she realized that with Klaus nothing was impossible. He will drag her to the function if he has to. She couldnt let him win. She told herself and then slipping her feet in the sandals she headed towards the door.

Klaus was looking at the gardens in a fowl mood thinking about Ms. Marshall and the work she had done in the company during this week, his own unexplainable desire to not let her go when she had handed him the resume. Thinking about the evening ahead and the deal he was going to talk to Stefan about he turned towards the door and then forgot everything as he took in Hayley dressed in mid-night navy blue silk dress being held by silver straps from her shoulder, brunette hair tumbling around her shoulder, silver bangles on her wrist, feet clad in silver sandals, nails painted in red, matching red lipstick, the lush lips inviting him to do something, anything. It took all his self-control to keep his jaw from dropping open. Draping a cashmere silver gray shawl around her shoulders, she said "lets go" as she closed the door.

When they walked towards his car Hayley felt really self-conscious. It had been more than two years since they had sat in the same car. The drive to the hotel was a quiet one. Once they got there and Klaus asked the valet to take the car away, she walked with him towards the hall. For some weird reason she wanted him to hold her arm like they did a couple of times during their marriage despite them knowing that it was not a normal marriage. He was looking so handsome in that pinstripe black suit. Stop it. That same stubborn voice told her. He deceived you. Just remember that. Hold onto it if you feel that you are slipping.

The moment she stepped inside with Klaus at her arm, she felt as if she had opened a door to her past. Happy couples elegantly dressed up were walking around, mingling with each other smiling as if they dont have any worry in the world.

"I wish I had not come." She muttered.

"Of course you would have come" He replied arrogantly as his gaze scanned the room.

Hayley asked feeling annoyed at his arrogance "and how can you be so sure about that?"

"As my executive assistant it is part of your job. If it were not you than Kara would have been with me. Now put a smile on your lips and lets go mingle"

His casually said statement cut a barb through her. She felt like punching his face and just to put him off she vowed not to put a smile on her face hence defying the training, a training to put a smile on your face in such a gather even if means that you are dying, a training that had been instilled in her since she was five years old.

As she walked around the hall with him, Klaus introduced her to his friends and their partners. Feigning ignorance to the couples she had come to know during their short marriage she chatted with them as they made their path through the crowd. Suddenly she realized that if she were not still angry at Klaus she would have been nervous wreck since it was the first time she was socializing since the accident and it felt weird to act as if she was meeting those people for the first time. Suddenly there was a buzz and she turned towards the sound and then froze as she saw who had just walked in. The thing she had been afraid of happening ever since Dani had called her. Like always her father still commanded respect. James Emerson had a knack of being the most likable character in any gathering. Only a select few, among which was his daughter and his household staff, knew who and what he really was. Panic filled her heart when she realized that he was walking towards her. Has he recognized her? She wondered in panic and took a step back but then she jerked as she had walked into Klaus. Her knees started to wobble and she wanted to run from there just like she had been running for the past twenty five years. That was the affect of the man in her life. She startled when she heard Klaus say something. She turned to him with vague yes and then from the fog came a clarity that he couldn't recognize her. But that was not enough to subdue the panic building up in her, the palpitation in her heart were so loud that she was sure people could hear it. He was so close to her now that she could smell his perfume which she hated, the smell of which used to make her run and hide when she was a little girl.

Klaus noticed James Emerson walking towards them and he gritted his teeth. He had an idea that he would come but was hoping not to have an encounter with him. He hated the man from the bottom of his heart but he was satisfied to see him defeat like that. In the end he didn't end up wth anything but every time he recalled how he had sold his daughter to him for heirs his blood boiled.

"Hello Niklaus." James Emerson said.

He said coldly "James. You are long way from home."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Before he could anything James turned to Hayley and asked "And what do we have here? I see you have finally moved on from my daughter. About time. Good for you."

Hayley startled at being addressed by him and not really taking in what he was saying she instinctively inched towards Klaus without realizing it.

Klaus said "Ms. Marshall is my assistant. Ms. Marshall meet James Emerson. He was my father's business partner in Falcon industries."

"Dont forget, your ex-father-in-law" James said smilingly.

"Trust me that is something I dont want to remember." He replied angrily.

"Hello" Hayley murmured. Something made him look at her face. Gone was that defiance that he was so used to seeing on her face and was he imagining or she was pale and shaking, something he had never seen in Hayley Marshall.

"Ms. Marshall it is nice to finally meet you." A twisted smile appeared on his lips distorting that handsome face and he continued "I have heard a great deal about you of course. I must admit that Ansel had great…"

"Emerson if you say another word I will not be answerable for my actions" Klaus hissed in a low voice that only Hayley and he could hear him. The silent threat stopped Emerson from continuing what he was saying Hayley shrank inward- a life long habit of hers whenever she had to face her father. I am not Eden. I am not Eden. She kept telling herself and let her hand be engulfed by his.

James Emerson looked at her embarrassingly saying "Oh dear I didnt meant to upset anyone. I was just saying that Ansel had an eye to find a good assistant. I have ben hearing about you and your work. And was wondering if you are ever looking for a job come to me."

Hayley started to shake as nausea started to build up in her at her father's implied words. She stepped even closer to Klaus who had angrily taken a step towards him but she stopped him by placing a hand on his arm.

Klaus controlled the urge to punch the guy but said "enjoy the party James" as he grabbed her arm and headed towards the bar

"Drink it." He hissed as he thrust glass of whisky and pushed her on the stool. "I am sorry for that."

Hayley burned her throat as she gulped down the whisky

"You are awfully pale. What the hell happened back there?" He asked almost sounding angry.

"I am sorry" she said softly but her hands were still shaking.

"Come. We are leaving." He sounded too angry.

"You cannot leave. The auction has not yet started." She said still shaking at what had happened.

"I will make up for that. We are leaving right now. If we stay here one more minute you will collapse. Have you looked at yourself? You look like you are going to be sick any minute."

"I am fine ." Hayley said not wanting to show any weakness. "Honestly I am fine. I dont know what came over me."

"Well James Emerson has the affect on people." He said gritting his teeth. "We are leaving as soon as the auction is over."

Suddenly Hayley felt the need to explain her behavior to him but instead of doing that the words that came out of her mouth were "was his daughter like him?"

She felt him stiffen and then he murmured "no." and just that and then more clearly he continued "I am sorry. He was rude to you because of me."

"You. Why" she asked feigning ignorance.

"James and I had a falling out when his daughter died." Klaus replied feeling tense and getting angry why was she insisting on discussing Eden with her but then he felt obliged to explain James behavior towards her. "He also had a falling out with my father and … with me."

"But wasn't he your business partner."

"Yes" getting uncomfortable now he continued hesitantly "my father was not happy with this partnership so it got dissolved."

"Oh" Hayley said wondering why Ansel never mentioned it and what caused her father to become an ex-business partner.

Klaus felt relieved that she didn't ask any more questions and then to his relief the auction began. And suddenly he realized that somewhere along the line he was always convinced that Hayley Marshall was never involved with his father in the sense people thought she was involved with. So why did his father leave so much to her? He thought with a frown on his forehead only to be distracted from his thoughts at the announcement of the auction beginning.

Next hour went in a haze after the auction began.  
"I will get my shawl from the powder room" She said to him after the auction was wrapped up.

Five minutes later, after fidgeting and debating whether to go after her or not, he went after her fearing if James had gotten to her again. He stopped in his track when he noticed a woman with brunette hair standing with her back towards him talking to some man with gray hair. A vivid image of Eden flashed through his mind and his gaze automatically went to her bare shoulder of the woman he was staring absence of the moon shaped mark brought him to present and he wondered in confusion what was he doing. And then she turned and Klaus felt the world turn over when he saw that it was Hayley. She walked to him as she wrapped her shawl around her.

"That turned out great" Hayley couldnt help but say while they were waiting for his car.

"Yes" he said absently thinking about what was going on with him.

The drive to home was very quiet. He wanted to hold her hand. She still looked pale and she was not saying anything which was bugging him a lot.

As she unlocked her front door she realized that he was standing just behind her.

"Thank you for what you did tonight." Hayley said in weak voice.

"No problem. Are you sure you are alright?" he asked cursing himself for being so weak.

She turned to him and said "yes thank you" with a small smile on her lips.

"are you sure?"

"What do you want Kl..Mr. Mikealson?" She asked exasperated.

Hearing the slip from her mouth, for he was sure that she was going to say his name he wanted her to say but he crushed that desire ruthlessly "Just want to make sure that you are alright."

"I am fine." She started to turn inside when he grabbed her arm. Hayley's gaze went to the place he was holding her and then towards his face. She could feel an emotion on his face and she knew what was it. Lust! How many times she had seen that look on Klaus's face during their marriage.

"what happened to Hate Mr. Mikaelson." She asked softly.

"We are not talking about feelings here Ms. Marshall" he replied not misunderstanding her.

She laughed cynically "Oh I know that you dont need to have feelings of have sex with someone but I thought the way you feel about me I was definitely out."

"What is that suppose to mean?" he asked with a scowl not liking what she was implying.

"Nothing. it is just that you dont seem like a man who indulges in feelings."

"You are talking as if you know me?"

"No I don't know you and I dont have any intentions of knowing you."

"Don't be too sure about yourself Ms. Marsahll."

Seeing color back on her face he decided to leave when she said "what was she like?"

"who?"

"your wife."

she is off limit to you." Klaus said sternly.

"I am just curious. Ansel was full of praises for her. I was wondering if you felt the same way about her."

For a long few seconds eh remained quiet and then he started to leave when she asking again " did you love her?"

He stopped and turned towards her and then walked back to her making her step back from her. "Why are you so interested in her Ms. Marshall?"

"No reason" Hayley started to regret going down that path.

He inched closer and said "your curiosity is very intriguing. I wonder why?" He added huskily and then leaned in curiously and to his heart's content she didnt step back.

"We shouldnt." She replied huskily.

"Why not?" he muttered, his eyes locked on his lips.

"I dont know."

He leaned in and his lips touched hers and then he broke the connection, looked straight into her eyes which had gone hazy and then he leaned in again, his hand cupping the back of her head and he was pulling her towards him, hard and his lips were plastered over her lips and she was returning the kiss with the equal enthusiasm, her hand holding his nape and pressing his body into hers.


	9. Blast from the past - 2

**_A/N: Hi, thanks for wonderful comments. Someone asked about Kara and Klaus. Cannot disclose much without destroying the plot. Once again the chapter got really long. I hope you guys like it._**

 ** _Synopsis: Klaus and Hayley continue to figure out their relationship while he is still struggling with memories of Eden. Camille and Klaus come to an understanding. Caroline makes a proposal to someone._**

* * *

And then he jerked and retreated, shock in his eyes, questions on her lips while he muttered "no no… no this is not happening."

 _"What? What do you mean?_ " she asked in incredulous that he was acting as if he has committed a sin by kissing _her_ but she could also feel her own confusion at her own behavior, at how she had clung to him desperately. And then she realized that he was in shock. He looked so shocked for some reason that she stepped towards him impulsively but he stepped back again muttering

"you… you .. why do I …" but then he turned and dashed towards the main house.

Klaus stopped with his hand on the main door, took deep breaths to calm his racing heart, turned back towards the guesthouse. Seeing no-one standing where she was standing a minute ago caused his heart to take a swan dive. He turned back and entered his house going straight to his room hesitating just for a second at the brink of the door whether to check on Hope first or not but then he went in his room. Eden! What was the matter with him? Why was he thinking of her all the time? This cannot be healthy.

 ** _Flashback Klaus_**

 ** _30th July 2014_**

 _"I dont want to go Niklaus."_

 _He continued to look at her noticing the black shadows under her eyes and her thinning face, her slender arms, her full breasts, her almost non-existing waist, the gentle swell of her stomach tampering down to her slim hips and then sharply legs. Remembering what Dr. Liz had told him about her during their last visit, he said "it will be nice for you to have fresh air Eden."_

 _She laughed as she picked up her jacket and went to the walking closet to hang it._

 _He ignored her sarcastic laugh and continued "it will be just two days. We didnt go on a vacation after the wedding so it will be nice break."_

 _He gulped and looked down at the carpet, thinking about his developing feelings for her and then looked up expecting to see her come out. But she never came out. He walked towards the walking closet and saw her cleaning up "did you hear me?"_

 _"yes I did." Eden replied as she turned towards him and he regretted reminding her that he had not taken her on the honeymoon but at that time he was too upset to take her anywhere but now.. now things were different. Now he was wiling to take her to the most romantic place… he stopped his train of thoughts and wondered what was the matter with him? She was the reason he was in this fix. His social life had been compromised and he had been a laughing stock in his own eyes for the past eleven months of his life ever since he had gotten married to Eden Emerson. He said in frustration, slashing his hand in the air "why are you resisting? It will just be for two days."_

 _She smiled sardonically and he could see the smile not reaching her eyes. That for some reason contracted his heart and he knew he was the reason for that despite him having a legitimate reason for it. He silently added the reason for his behavior to justify his behavior towards her._

 _"Niklaus you cannot even spend few hours with me now that I am pregnant let alone two full days."_

 _Something rushed through his body and he stopped her as she started to turn back to what she was doing by holding her arm and said "so that is it! You are upset that I don't spend more time with you."_

 _"Why should I be upset?" she murmured looking anywhere but him._

 _Feeling frustrated at the ache in his groins, he said, keeping his voice down "We got married for a child. When that was accomplished, I didn't think there is any need for us to be together."_

 _She looked up and muttered something that he didnt catch but his heart jumped at the hope that just sparked in his heart._

 _"You want sex?" he asked keeping his face straight while blood rushed downwards._

 _"I… no…" she stumbled back, her cheeks reddening as if on fire but he was already inching towards her._

 _He leaned in, excited how although she retracted in word yet her body was screaming for him. He knew her body so well even though they have been together for only a few months before she ended up getting pregnant._

 _"What are you doing Niklaus?" She whispered._

 _"Taking care of your needs. After all that is what I am supposed to do for my wife." He said keeping his face straight._

 _"but I am pregnant and you…" his hand moved down her back and he pressed her close to him, so close that there was no space between them while his hand wrapped on her seven months pregnant stomach. And without any warning a breath released from him and a wave of satisfaction ran through him as he felt his baby for the first time and he muttered "my child!" to himself. His lips touched her ear at her weak point and kissed her and she fell on him in a surrender. "No matter. We are not going back to that arrangement ever again." He muttered against her ear and then he was lifting her and carrying her to his bed._

 ** _end flashback_**

He snapped to present. He looked at the drink in his hand wondering when did he get that. No matters. He gulped it down in one go. His body still remembered each and every touch that had scorched him and they had spend the night exploring each other again and they had forgotten that their marriage was a business deal made under the pressure of blackmail even if it was just for a few hours.

He walked to the drawer and opened it, took out a picture, a rare picture of them together which a friend had taken on a party and then presented to them. Reeling with the familiar feeling of guilt he put the picture back.

Late into the night he was still tossing and turning wondering about his body's reaction towards Hayley Marshall. Guilt and regret was eating at him again for kissing her like that and thinking about Eden while doing that. He was betraying her memory. But despite all that he just wanted to go back to her and burry himself deep in her. He was losing control of himself. At last he got out of the bed, opened his laptop and booked a flight to New York.

Caroline was still up unable to sleep thinking about how to find a groom in the next six months so she had taken up to reading a book to distract herself. She looked up when she heard a knock at the door. "Enter."

Seeing Klaus in her room made her curious and anxious. "Klaus, what happened? Is Hope alright?"

"Yes. I just came from looking at her. I am leaving for New York in a couple of hours. Will be back by evening tomorrow. Take care of Hope."

"New York? At this time. Why? Is every thing alright?"

"Yes. Just some business to attend to. See you tomorrow."

As he started to turn she hastily asked "Klaus have you thought about what I discussed with you the other day?"

"This is not the time to discuss something so important Caroline and even if it were the answer is still no. Because that is preposterous and you know it" Klaus turned towards her and said in frustration.

"But Klaus think about it. It will be business contract. We can get annulment in a year."

 _"No."_

"But it worked out for you and Eden…."

"Dont!" he almost shouted. "Dont" his voice become lethally soft. "Put this idea out of your mind and instead of convincing _me_ to marry you, find a suitable person whom you _want_ to get married. You are intelligent, pretty and smart. You will find someone whom you fall madly in love and want to spend rest of your life with."

"But I dont want to get married right now" Caroline whined.

He smiled sadly "perhaps that is the reason father put that condition."

"I know that" she replied angrily "that is not fair."

"He was concerned about your future." This time he walked to her, kissed her cheek and said "My flight is in three hours so I am leaving in a few minutes." He walked a couple of steps towards the door and then turned towards her and said "and Caroline make sure that Hope does not go to Ms. Marshall. You can tell her that I told her not to go wot her."

He felt like a monster giving that instruction but she was his daughter and he had a right to decide who can meet Hope. He convinced himself as he left the room leaving Carline thinking about her future and her inheritance.

Caroline remained sitting on her bed with the book in her hand for a long time after he had gone wondering about what Klaus had said, realizing that he will never agree to marry her. She had to marry someone else, someone who wouldnt be interested in her property after the divorce or annulment. But who would be willing to marry her for her selfish reasons. Someone she could trust. But who? Klaus was not willing to do so. Elijah? No, he wouldnt agree to it either. Someone else? But who? She raked her brain to come up with someone and while doing so she drifted off to sleep.

While Klaus was on the flight to New York, Hayley was lying on the bed fully awake thinking her reaction to that kiss. She kept wondering how could she kiss the man who had set out to destroy her. She felt disgusted with herself. She shouldnt have kissed him despite the fact that the started the kiss. He didnt know who she was but she knew. How could she degrade herself like that. She tossed and turned, even went to the bathroom twice, rubbed her lips to wash off his touch from her lips but to not affect. Her father! She punched the pillow in frustration. It was all because of him. He was the reason she lost her focus and ended up kissing him. She told herself to put that kiss and that stupid act in the box where she had locked her feelings for Klaus. She told herself to deal with the new day like that kiss never happened. That was a mistake. She should forget about it. She told herself that it will never happen again because she will never be weak like she was today. It was because of her father. He always made her lose her focus. But he was really sweet to you today. A voice reasoned. Stop it. He was just being decent. She snubbed the voice and firmly shut her eyes. Hope! Think about Hope. Damn! Forgot about the office tomorrow. She sighed as she started to feel flustered at the prospect of seeing him tomorrow. She has to do something to spend time with Hope. Otherwise all of this was for nothing. Hannah! When will she able to meet her? She wondered. God! This is too much. She will go crazy if she continues to torture her mind like that. One day, one problem at a time. First one on her agenda should be to deal with Saturday morning with Klaus without thinking about that kiss. Should be piece of cake, she thought. Come on! Who are you kidding? She signed and then considered the second agenda which should be how to spend some time with Hope some how. She turned again and blanked her mind as she started to count backwards from hundred. The last coherent number her mind registered before she fell in the valley of dreams was eighty seven.

 ** _New York_**

Klaus looked at his watch as he stretched in the parking lot of the rental cars near the airport and realized that he has few more hours to go see Hannah. He was too tired to drive and wished that he had asked Raymond, a retainer driver for his visits to New York, to come pick him up but he always made this trip alone and he wanted to keep this that way. He got behind the driving wheel of the car he had rented and started tout towards the Azure, the new hotel he had opened last year to get some breakfast. His sudden appearance at the hotel caused a small distraction but everything went smoothly. After breakfast he headed upstairs to the penthouse to lie down for a couple of hours before going to see Hannah. A couple of hours later the ringing tone of his cell woke him up.

He said sleepily "hello."

"Nik, where are you? Why dont you come today? Mother wants to meet you."

"Rebekah!" He sat up rubbing his eyes, looked at his wrist watch and realized that it was ten in the morning. "I…I am in NewYork. I will visit soon."

"Oh. When did you go there?"

"Just reached here." He replied as he got out of the bed and headed towards the bathroom to shower and disconnected without hearing anything else. After washing off his fatigue under hot water he stepped out, wrapped a towel around his body and was about to change his clothes when his cell rang again.

 **Mystic Falls**

Hayley was restlessly tapping her pen on the desk wondering where Klaus was. It had been a while since she had arrived at the office. For the first half an hour she waited for him to call her not wanting to initiate the contact but then she couldn't tolerate the suspense any longer so she had gone to check in his office and found it to be empty. _He was not here._ Immediately she knew he was torturing her for reacting the way she had with him last night. Damn! What was this man still doing to her? She angrily walked back to her desk and sat down angrily debating the number of ways she waned to kill him. After some time she took out her cell and dial his number punching each digit so hard as if that was his face. After a couple of rings he picked it up and said "Hello."

"Where the hell are you?" She wanted to ask but realized that he was her boss and feeling hesitant she asked "where are you? I am in the office."

"Why? Isn't it a weekend?" He asked curiously.

"You said to meet you here to discuss that Utopia project" she said gritting her teeth getting angry that he was showing no signs of their kiss.

After a slight pause he said "I cannot make it today. You can go home."

Her first reaction was anger. He stood her up and he didnt even have etiquette to apologize to her. Her second reaction was disbelief. Was he avoiding her? That kiss. He did not want to face her. Where was he? Her next reaction was anger. What the hell? He was kissing her just last night and now he is with someone else. Her final reaction was disappointment and extreme sadness as she realized that he must be with his mistress. He had turned to his mistress because he was annoyed with himself for kissing her. He wanted to humiliate her, tell her that she was beneath him.

"Fine." She replied. Refusing to give in to his satisfaction about getting to her again. "See you Monday" and disconnected the call and threw the cell on the desk angrily. She slightly calmed down. So he is with someone else. Coward! He is trying to erase that kiss from his mind. That kiss! Dont even think about that kiss. It just happened. Things like that happen when people are upset and you were upset. Your father caused that. You dont care about him. Whoever he is with is not your concern any more. Your concerns are just Hope and Hannah. Just concentrate on them. But her heart was still sinking, she realizing. Cursing herself for being so vulnerable about Klaus Mikaelsson, she picked up her bag and headed towards elevator to go home.

 **New York:**

Malache O'Connell looked up from his breakfast and said to her daughter "I am glad that you decided to come back even if it was for a day. How are you liking it so far?"

"It is so much fun daddy. Practical experience is so different from the theoretical. And Klaus is wonderful to work with." Her eyes gleamed with happiness, face flushing with excitement.

"Just to work with?" her father asked mischievously.

"Daddy!" Camille said flabbergasted at her father's open teasing.

"I know my daughter. Why do you think that I was wiling to send you to Paris to studies. I knew how much you were broken up at his marriage. But _now_ he is single." He finished with hopeful note.

"I don't know daddy. I am not sure if he has moved on from Eden."

"He didn't love her." he replied dismissively.

"How do you know it?" she asked curiously, her heart thumping hard in her chest.

"Eden's father didn't exactly make it a secret. Trust me he didn't love her."

"Hmmm…." before she could continue her cell rang.

"Excuse me daddy, it is Rebekah."

"Hello Rebekah" as her father got up with a smile gesturing her to continue with Rebekah.

"he is in New York."

"Who?"

"Nik… who else?" Rebekah said irritably.

"How do you know?"

"I called him today and he told me."

"Oh. Do you think I should call him. We just met yesterday."

"Call him!" Rebekah almost shouted in her ear. "You want him. Right?"

"Of course." Camille replied.

"Then call him" Rebekah insisted. "I am going now. Will call later to find out what happened."

A couple of hours later, he was sitting in the play ground of the all girls school thinking about Eden.

 _"I don't want Eden anywhere near my other daughter Niklaus. She has had bad habits and Hannah looks up to her sister. She is a bad influence on that little girl."_ Her father's harsh voice reached his ears _"that is the condition to this marriage."_

He stood up feeling restless and started pacing the grounds which he had been visiting for the past one and a half years ever since he had gotten over his depression caused at the discovery that someone indeed had photoshopped his and Eden intimate act to look like her and Elijah instead. Elijah true to his words had managed to convince and proven to him that those pictures were photoshopped resulting in sending Klaus to the bouts of depression. He had lost Eden and he had lost respect for himself in his own eyes at the way he had treated her on that fateful day. Fortunately everyone thought that his depression period for a few months following Eden's death was because of the loss. After that it took another couple of months for him to entertain the thought of initiating contacts with Hannah to make right of what he had wronged her with, thinking maybe that will assuage his need to help with the guilt for not letting her meet with her sister.

 ** _Flashback Klaus_**

 ** _20th June, 2015_**

 _"My name is Niklaus Mikaelson. I would like to meet Hannah Emerson." he said_

 _"Your relationship with her is?" the generously healthy woman sitting behind the desk asked, her demeanor reminding him of the nuns in 'Oliver Twist'._

 _With a twisted smile on his lips he said "she is my late wife's sister. I promised my wife that I would keep in touch with her."_

 _"You are not on the records of allowed visitors Mr. Mikaelson. We cannot let you meet her without her father's permission."_

 _He looked at her for a moment and then said with a smile "I am sure we can make some sort of arrangement for me to meet Ms. Emerson."_

 _The headmistress returned a thoughtful look and then said coyly "we do need to build a new playground for the kids."_

 _"Of course. What do you need for this? In fact let my assistant call you and we can arrange a regular donation for the school from me."_

 _"That will be wonderful for the kids."_

 _"Now can I meet her?"_

 _When the headmistress still looked hesitant, Klaus took out a checkbook which he always carried with him and wrote down a cheque of one hundred dollar and said "this is just a small gift for the kids."_

 _She rang a bell while Klaus walked to the window looking out at the lush green grass, beds of roses and play areas. He looked back when he heard the headmistress say "sister Anna, bring Hannah Emerson into the office."_

 _After the door was closed he said "I will appreciate it if we keep these meetings with Hannah between us."_

 _"Of course."_

 _He continued to stand there for god knows how long and then the door opened causing him to look towards it as a young girl entered the room. His heart jumped. She was the only living link to his late wife apart from her hateful father and his own daughter. He knew that she was six years old- born to one of the mistress of Emerson's. What he didnt know was how much she would remind him of Eden. Her eyes and that tilt of the chin which they had inherited from their father. For a split second he was hesitant as to how to introduce himself. He thought about the speech he had prepared on the way here and then he walked to her and said "Hi Hannah. My name is Niklaus Mikaelson. You can call me Klaus and I am you sister's husband."_

 _"But Eden is dead." She replied with wobbly lips, her eyes darting to the headmistress._

 _His heart ached and he looked towards the headmistress in distress and then back at her and asked "who told you that Hannah?"_

 _"Daddy came and he said that she will never visit me again and I have to live in this school forever."_

 _He felt bile rose in this throat at those crass words and then he impulsively knelt near her and said "I am sorry Hannah but your daddy is right. Your sister had a car accident but you know she is alive over here." He touched her heart not knowing where these words were coming from but they were flowing from his lips "as long as you remember her, she is alive. And then you have her pictures right?"_

 _Hannah nodded and then to his shock she fell on him hugged him._

 ** _end flashback_**

And that was the first and the last time he had met Hannah Emerson even though he had make it a point to visit her school twice a month since then. He just sat at the far end of the playground, sometime catching a glimpse of her and sometimes just getting some information about her. Every time he wanted to meet her, he just remembered how she had broken down when she was talking about her sister reeling him in guilt and regrets at how he had treated Eden during their marriage and that fateful day. If only…. that was the only thing he kept thinking. If only….

"She will be out in a few minutes." Sister Catherine's voice interrupting his thoughts.

He looked towards the friendly face and asked "how is she doing?"

"Better now. She was sick last week but doing good now."

"Can I ask you something Mr. Mikaelson?" The old sister continued politely.

"Of course" his gaze still fixed on the playground.

"Why dont you meet her? She would feel better if she has a visitor other than her nanny." She asked in the same tone.

"I have my reasons." He didn't mean to snub her but what could he tell the sister and why should he, he thought arrogantly and then, before they could ponder on the subject further, Hannah walked out with her friends. Her face solemn unlike how he had imagined kids to be. As he watched her siting at the bench at the far end of the ground looking at the other girls playing a sister approached her and said something to her which brought a big smile on her face and she ran inside.

"what happened?" He sat up and asked anxiously.

"Sister Jasmine is in-charge of visiting rights. Maybe her nanny had come to visit her."

"Hmm…" he said and got up to leave vowing that one day in near future he will pucker up the courage and go meet that girl.

He was walking out of the gate when he stopped and wondered why not today. He turned and walked towards the principal's room.

Five minutes later he was siting in Mrs. Peterson office who had miraculously gained more weight as if that was possible. She said after listening to his request. "Mr. Mikaelson I am grateful for what you are doing for the school but I cannot let you meet her. I allowed it last year but you are making it hard for me. It is against our school policy. These kids, their parents trust us and you are not related to her."

"I am related to her" shocking himself of acknowledging openly a relationship he had never thought of doing before "you keep forgetting that her sister was my wife."

"But she has died now and there is no link between _you_ and her. Already on your request we are not letting her father know that you are see her. I am sorry" she added regrettably almost sounding afraid that Klaus will withdraw his financial support to the school. Klaus was not used to being turned down but deep down he understood what the principal was saying was right. He didn't want to lose this right to at least see her so he stood up and walked out feeling angry at his limitations. Suddenly he stopped in his track when he noticed Hannah standing outside the door with her head down. As if on cue she looked up and their eyes met. They stared at each other and he wondered if she had heard anything but the answer was staring at him. Before he could say something she turned and left. He started "Hannah" but she didnt stop.

"I need to see her right now." He said authoritatively not particularly talking to anyone.

After a few minutes he was standing in a small visiting room looking out of the window at the beautiful garden. His conscious plucked at him for a second as he recalled the principal's words about meeting Hannah. Her father who hated him had no idea that he was meeting his daughter but then he hardened his heart towards the man who sold one of his daughter to him. He had a right to meet her, she was after all his late wife's sister, an aunt to his own daughter.

He turned back when the door opened and Hannah ushered in by Mrs. Peterson herself. Perhaps she wanted to be present while she broke the rule. He mused cynically. But he didnt want to care about that. His attention was focused on the girl with a most solemn smile he had ever seen on a child's face. Before he could say anything Mrs. Peterson was saying "say hello to Mr. Mikaelson, Hannah."

"Hello Mr. Mikaelson" she said shyly with a smile that brought on a severe pain in the vicinity of his chest. She looked so much like Eden. For the thousandth time he wondered if it was good idea to start getting acquainted with her when he didnt make an effort during their marriage? But that smile, he could see the effort- an effort that a child of her age shouldnt have to put. It should have come naturally. Nothing was natural about this smile. Clearly she was not happy in this school. What was she doing wearing that gray uniform? Why was there no other color in that garment, he thought angrily. If it were Hope, he would have taken care of it but she was not Hope. She was his late wife's sister and he had some limitation in the kind of interaction he had with his wife's family. Already he was meeting her behind her father's back. If he knew, he would raise havoc in everyone's life. She was too quiet, too quiet for such a small child. Hope never stopped chattering despite her lack of vocabulary so why was she not talking? He cleared his throat and said "Hannah. I…."

"I know who you are. You are Eden's husband. Mrs. Peterson explained it to me. I think… I think you visited me last year. I thought it was a dream".

"I am sorry Hannah. I should have met you before but …."

"But daddy wouldnt let you meet me right?"

He knew he should tell her the real reason but he couldnt. Before he could say something she continued "dont worry. I wouldn't tell him."

Hearing such brave yet a simple words from such a small girl's mouth made him feel ashamed at his own behavior. Abandoned! The word was etched on her lovely innocent face. She was trying to be brave. At this age? When the kids only concern should be their own happiness and demands. He knew what it felt like to be abandoned so why did he do that to this little girl. She didnt deserve that. However bad influence Eden was to Hannah, they were sisters and they loved each other. That he was sure of. First she left her and then he left her.

"Dont worry about it. I will sort it out with your daddy and then we can go out" he didnt know from where that came out.

"Really? where?" she asked excitedly as she leaned forwards with her small hands resting on the table in-between them.

"Ice-cream, zoo or any other place you want to go" he said smilingly now as he saw the genuine smile spreading on her face.

"Daddy wouldnt let me" her face fell again.

"I promise you, Hannah. I will take you." The promise came out automatically.

Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed Mrs. Peterson pointing at something. He groaned but with a smile he said to Hannah "I have to go…" when she cut him off "will you come meet me again?"

"Of course I will." The reply was instantaneous.

She stood up and before Klaus could do anything she walked around the table towards him and hugged him.

He stilled for a moment but then his arms went around him and he hugged her back. Once she had left, Mrs. Peterson said apologetically "I am sorry Mr. Mikaelson to cut short this meeting but we are already breaking the rules"

"That is alright. I will get in touch with you later." He said and with heavy heart he headed towards his rental.

 **Mystic Falls**

While Klaus was meeting Hannah, Caroline had finally figured out what she was going to do to get her ten percent in the company. She had been excited since the idea had come to her mind and she wanted to call him as soon as she came up with the pitch she was going to present to him. She startled when she heard Nessa say "Ms. Stantson, I am not feeling well. I was wondering if I could have a day off?"

"today?" Caroline asked feeling frustrated. She had to talk to Stefan and that too _today_. Each day was costing her one day closer to her end date. She said "sure" as he realized that Nessa was really pale.

An hour later after busying Hope with her toys, she dialed Stefan's number. As soon as the call connected she said "Stefan can you meet me today for coffee."

"not right now. How about tonight?"

"Alright. Can you come to my home? Actually Klaus is out of town, the nanny is sick and I cannot leave Hope alone."

"Sure." Stefan said.

Feeling satisfied she turned towards Hope and said excitedly "okay lets get ready. We are going to zoo today. yay…"

Hayley was standing at the guesthouse steps with a cup of coffee in her hand when the door to the main house opened and Caroline came out holding Hope's hand. She looked at her daughter's beaming face and prayed that she always had that smile on that face. She puckered up the courage, walked towards them and asked "are you going somewhere?"

"We are going to the zoo." Caroline said as she settled her in the car.

"Oh." She paused for a moment and then asked looking at smiling Hope "can I come with you guys? I love zoo."

She noticed Caroline stiffening and before she could continue Caroline turned towards her and said stiffly "I am sorry Ms. Marshall. Klaus strictly told me not to expose Hope to you anymore."

"He need not know that I went" She said hopefully, hating herself for having to make a plea to spend time with her own daughter.

"He has left her to me and of course I have to tell him when he come back."

"Comes back from where?" the words were out before she could stop herself.

"He is in New York."

"He is in New York?" She asked in daze as she recalled that Camille O'Connell lived in New York. _But she is in Mystic Falls right now. He is not with her._ A voice reasoned. _Stop it! He is not your concern anymore. Whom he goes out with or not is not your concern._ She snubbed the voice.

"Yes he is. Say good bye to Ms. Marshall, Hope." Tessa said as she got behind the driving seat.

Hope smiled "good bye Ms. Marshall."

But before she could reply Caroline had already backed up the car. Hayley whispered "mommy. I am your mommy."

So Klaus has told Caroline to keep their distance with her. She thought depressingly as she headed towards her guesthouse.

 **New York:**

It had been half an hour since he had bid his farewell to Hannah but he was still sitting in his car still parked outside the school, still thinking about the child, the misery etched on her face. Her excitement at his promise. She didnt deserve that, he told himself fiercely. He wanted to do something, anything to see that genuine smile back on her face. The abandonment by one's family does that. If he had allowed Eden to keep in touch with her sister despite what her father had told him, the mere acceptance by her sister would have made a huge difference to her. You dont know that! She was ready to abandon Hope if you had not intervened. A voice reminded him. No. Maybe it was best for Hannah. How could it be best for that girl? Dont you remember your feeling when you were send to that boarding school when you were Hannah's age. He kept asking himself. And then in disgust with himself he tried to think about something else and suddenly out of blue Hayley Marshall's pink lips flashed through his mind. He groaned in disgust with himself. How could he kiss Hayley Marshall? Was the celibacy starting to making him lose his judgement? He was willing to take _Ms. Marshall_ to bed? How could he? Maybe he should take care of his sexual urges so that he does not feel that way around her ever again. But whom? He needed to take care of his needs, he realized in agony. He ideally looked at his cell phone and then angrily punched some numbers.

Camille was pacing in her room with the cell clutched in her hand thinking about contacting Klaus when her cell rang. Seeing his name on the caller Id she jumped. She hastily pressed the button, put it against her ear and said "hello."

"Camille this is Klaus. How are you?"

"Oh Klaus. How are you? I am good." She asked flustered not wanting him to know that she knew about his presence in New York or how his voice was affecting her.

"I am in New York. I was wondering if we could meet." He sounded strange.

Was he sounding flustered? Wait, what? Was he asking her on date? Really? Oh my god! She thought excitedly and then next second chiding herself for acting like a sex-deprived teenager. Keeping her voice steady she replied "Of course. Why dont you come over for lunch?"

"Good. See you in forty minutes. I have a flight to catch home at seven tonight so will only stay for a couple of hours."

Before she could say anything he had disconnected.

She stood rooted at the spot for a while in shock that she was meeting Klaus in a social setup. Looking at the time she realized that it was two in the afternoon. He will be here around three. Maybe a late lunch? She wondered and hurriedly rushed towards the kitchen and said to the chef "Adam, I am expecting guest for lunch. Make Chinese."

Before hearing the chef's response she dashed out again in search for her father and came to halt when he bumped into her while coming out of his study.

"O Cami, I am going to play golf with Gates."

"Okay daddy. Klaus is coming over for lunch" she said excitedly.

"He is in New York?" Her father inquired curiously.

"Yes."

"Hmmm I wonder why." He mused as he glanced at his daughter's excited face and then kissed her on her cheek and advised "tell him." After a slight pause he continued "Where is Shawn?"

"His flying class." Camille replied excitedly planning what she was going to wear and wondering if he was here in New York because of her.

Two hours later Klaus was standing near the big window in the huge drawing room on O'Connell's residence thinking about Camille and how much effort she had put in for his favorite meal. He wondered if she still had those feelings for him, those feelings the he had witnessed many times in the innocent girl she once was while they were growing up. What if he ends up hurting her somehow just like he did to Eden? He shook his head and then said looking out at the lavish gardens "I have never been to your place. This is beautiful."

"Yes. Daddy loves gardening. He does it himself." She replied, pride for her dad's hard work dripping from her lips, causing a twinge in his heart. He glanced at her as she poured coffee for him.

"Thanks for the Chinese. You remembered I love it." Klaus said with a smile on his lips.

"Of course I remember. So what were you doing in New York?" She asked, her heart beating out of her chest at his acknowledgment that she was familiar with his likes and dislikes.

"Honestly?" He asked her over his shoulder, looking back at her.

"I am hoping it was because of me." She said jokingly taking in the bait. She knew she was flirting and to her surprise she didnt care. She was going for it. Rebekah was right. If she wanted him, she had to make a move.

"That is definitely the high point of my visit" he turned towards her now and stared at her lips. Putting aside all cautions he stepped towards her after after putting the mug on top of the fireplace.

Camille smiled as she sipped her coffee burning herself as she had gulped it down. Finally it was happening. She threw a bait and he took it. Maybe he wanted her too. Maybe daddy was right and Klaus was ready to move on from Eden.

She looked up when she noticed him nearing her. He took her mug from her hand and put it on the table and then held her hand, caressed it lightly and pulled her towards him.

"Klaus…" she started but couldnt continue at the intensity in his eyes, at how her own heart was beating, the molten pole gathering at the core of her body.

And then he leaned forward and their lips met for the first time and she felt that she was flying in clouds. She had been dreaming of this since she was fourteen years old. Finally it was happening.

He didnt feel anything. More than a second, much more than the time he had already started feeling a lot when he was kissing Ms. Marshall, had passed but nothing happened. Damn! He kissed her deeper, parting her lips with his tongue and thrust his tongue into her mouth and tasted her, felt her fingers grabbing his hair as she kissed him back. He cajoled her lips and tried not to compare it with the kiss he had shared with Hayley Marshall but he was not successful. And then he couldnt continue. He broke the kiss, kept his forehead touching hers, his hands holding hers and then he stepped back.

Camille said hesitantly "Klaus…"

Klaus said "I am sorry Camille. I cannot. I shouldn't have kissed you."

"Why?" she asked almost pleading him.

"I.. I am still in love with my wife, Camille." He replied voicing his feelings aloud to someone for the first time. "I cannot betray her."

Camille felt the floor slipped from under her feet. She stood ramrod hoping that she will not fall down and said "Klaus I am sorry for your loss but Klaus… Klaus Eden is gone. How long are you…"

Klaus looked at her with pity in his eyes and misery in his heart for torturing himself like that, for breaking her heart, for being in love with a ghost. He said regrettably "I am sorry I shouldn have tried to kiss you. We are going to be business partners. I shouldnt have ruined our relationship."

Camille said "you have not" trying to smile through her shattered heart. "We can be friends. Can't we? I can wait Klaus." She said.

He didnt want to give her hope but he didnt want to squash her further because he could see that he was killing her with his words and rejection. "I am sorry Camille." After an awkward silence he said "I should be leaving."

"I can drop you at the airport" she said bravely.

"No Camille. I think I should go alone." He said awkwardly.

What the hell was he thinking? He was using her! He kept cursing himself on the way to the airport. And why didnt he freak out when he had kissed her like he freaked out when he had kissed Hayley Marshall. Why couldn't he remember Eden when he was kissing Camille. Maybe he was developing feeling for Hayley, the kind of feelings that he still has for Eden. No. That was not possible. He couldn't love anyone else, least of all Ms. Marshall. Loving her was betraying himself. He hated her. Why couldnt he hold on to that feeling? She manipulated his father. she took his right, his property. He parked the rental car in the parking lot and as he was getting out he stopped in the process when he smelled Gardenias. He looked around bewildered as he spotted some Gardenias near the parking lot. He stared at them ideally, then in frustration banged the car door shut and headed towards the shuttle to take him to the terminal.

 **Mystic Falls**

It was six in the evening and she was dead tired even though she had not done anything today. She tucked her feet under her and cuddled the warm cup of coffee in her hand feeling exhausting. She had missed Hope again too. Cursing Klaus she sipped her coffee. He didnt even have the decency to apologize for standing her up. Stop it! She shouldn't be thinking about him, torturing herself when he had been having fun time with Camille. A voice told her. She shook her head firmly placing Klaus at the back of her mind and then her thoughts went back to Hope who must have loads of fun with Caroline, pampered by her, which should be _her_ privilege. What was Hannah doing at that moment? She must be lonely like her. Her heart ached. Ansel, where are you when I need you? You were my shield, to give me hope when I was lonely. I need you now. She said to herself, hugging herself feeling miserable at being so lonely, having nothing in her control. Well she couldnt do anything about Klaus or Hope so why not inquire about Hannah. It had been a while she had not gotten update about her.

She dialed Dani's number. After initial greetings Dani said "princess today I went to visit Hannah at her school. I saw Mr. Mikaelson over there."

"What? What was he doing there?" she sat up straight and put the coffee on her table as she asked in alarm.

"I don't know but when I asked the headmistress, she told me that he had been patron of the school since last year."

"but why…" she asked confusedly as if asking herself. "Why would he visit _that_ school? Does he meet her? Does he _know_?"

She knew she was talking to herself so it was no wonder when Dani didnt reply her questions.

"But… does daddy know?" she continued in an alarming voice.

"I dont believe so. If he did, he would have told the school not to let her meet him" Dani said consolingly.

She sighed and asked "how was she?" while her mind was trying to figure out Klaus's motives. Maybe she could ask him some how when he comes back.

"She had slight fever last week. Just flu nothing serious but she is better now. She is growing beautifully. I will ask Adam to send you some new pictures of her. When do you plan to meet her princess?"

"I am not sure that I can ever meet her but maybe I can come see her" still distracted by the news that Klaus was visiting Hannah's school. So he was not with Camille? She wondered but then shook her head.

"Come visit me" Dani commanded indulgently.

"I will call you when I visit and we can meet."

"I can take you to meet Hannah."

"No, I don't want daddy to know you let someone meet Hannah. I need _you_ to be there for Hannah." she said softly. "she needs you whenever she comes home."

After slight hesitation, Dani asked the question she herself was pondering on "princess why is your husband patron of this school?"

"I dont know Dani. I dont know. Listen I have to go now. Will talk to you later. And thank you. I miss you too."

"Good bye princess and take care."

"Good bye Dani." She replied and put the phone down still in shock at finding out what Klaus was doing in New York. Maybe after her 'death' he started to regret how he had framed her. Maybe to assuage his guilt he went to visit Hannah, to assuage the guilt of keeping them apart. He did care about her at one time.

 ** _Flashback_**

 ** _April, 2014_**

 _She was looking out of the window wondering about the fountain again. Maybe she should do it herself but this was not really her home. She wondered ruefully. Suddenly she sensed him but she refused to look towards him. After a few quiet moments during which she could feel his gaze burning holes in her back, he said "Caroline said that you have not eaten dinner again today."_

 _"I am pregnant" she replied and then she slowly turned towards him._

 _She noticed him getting still. Was it disappointment on his face?_

 _"How many weeks?" He asked._

 _What the hell? Just that? She told him she was pregnant and all he had to ask was how many weeks! She wondered. "Twelve…"_

 _"Is it mine?" he asked_

 _She gasped, he muttered something before she could say anything, his hand slashing the air telling her to ignore his question and then asked "why didn't you tell me before?"_

 _When she continued to remain quiet he said "then there is no need for us to go through this charade anymore."_

 _Saying that he turned and left the room._

 _A moment later the door opened again and he entered the room with a tray of food in his hands._

 _"here. You need to eat something especially in this condition of yours."_

 _He walked to her and then their eyes met and perhaps he noticed the tears in her eyes. He put the tray down on the side table and asked "are you crying?"_

 _"I thought you had a meeting to go to." She replied as she wiped her face and walked towards the walking closet._

 _At the quiet behind her, she turned towards him but the room was empty._

 _Later that night she was puking her guts out like she had been doing past couple of weeks. Unable to muster up the courage to get up from the bathroom floor she crawled back towards her bed but was feeling too weak to reach it so she crumpled on the carpet and curled there and wanted to die. Her hand went to her stomach and she prayed, prayed for her child to be strong and then she wanted to puke again but lost all energy to crawl back to the bathroom. Suddenly the door opened and he walked in. "Eden…"_

 _Strong arms were lifting her off the ground._

 _As he was carrying her towards the bed she muttered "bathroom."_

 _He carried her to the bathroom and set her down on the floor when she said "go away" feeling too tired. but he stood there, rubbed her back, held her hair while she puked the pathetic water she had drunk a while ago. She washed her face and he carried her back to the bed. She could feel his steady and strong heart beat against her hand resting on his chest. After tucking her in, removing sweaty hair strands away from her face, he left the room. After ten minutes he came back and placed a cup of tea near her bed along with a plate of crackers. She whispered "I thought you had left."_

 _"why would you say that? I am not a monster."_

 _She sat up and suddenly was hugging his back and started crying._

 _He turned towards her slowly and cradled her so that she was in his lap and he let her cry. Later much later when there were no tears left he settled her down in the bed, tucked the bed cover over her, made sure she drank the herbal tea. "Now go to sleep. Will sit with you until you fall asleep."_

 _She turned her back towards him wanting him in the bed but remembering what he had said didnt say anything to him._

 _When she woke up he was still siting by her bed with a fresh plate of crackers next to her._

 _She smiled as she took a cracker._

 _"I know despite those promises we made to each other, you were not obliged to care of me while I was sick but thank you for doing that."_

 _He continued to stare at her and then abruptly stood up. His expressions unreadable but then he said "I have to leave for England tonight. Will be back in a week."_

 _And left without another word._

 _Damn! She had ruined it again! She wondered as she miserably took another cracker and rested her head against the headboard._

 ** _End flashback._**

* * *

 ** _A/N: A lot of flashbacks in this chapter. Hope were not boring. Too much jumping between New York and Mystic Falls. everything happened in one day day. Hope you all got it. This story will process slowly time wise. Anyways do you think Stefan will agree to Caroline's suggestion and what will be Klaus's reaction. Poor Camille. Will she continue to work on Klaus? What did you think about Hannah and Klaus's interaction? Thoughts?_**


	10. Shattering control

**_Synopsis: Caroline goes ahead with her plan about getting her share in the company. Klaus and Hayley continue to try to figure out their place in each other's life. Ansel's personal possession are handled._**

 ** _A/N: Thanks for wonderful reviews._**

* * *

Kara smiled as she walked towards the small room behind the reception desk. Looking around carefully she closed the door and went inside. Ten minutes later she came out and walked towards the elevator.

* * *

Throughout the flight he kept cursing himself for kissing Camille, for breaking her heart like that for he couldn't stop thinking about her shattered face when he had confessed his darkest secret to her. Her effort to look brave were not lost on him and he was feeling more of a bastard that he was as remorse filled his heart. Unwelcome thoughts about Hayley Marshall crawled into his mind and he cursed himself for kissing her too. The reasoning he was giving himself for thinking about Eden while kissing Ms. Marshall and not with anyone else were not satisfactory. He didnt want to contemplate the idea that he might be falling in love with Hayley Marshall. No, he didnt want that. He thought in frustration. By the time he reached home he was exhausted, frustrated and angry with himself. He was tired and wanted to clear his mind and rest. Knowing everyone would be asleep by now, regretting that he had yet again missed another perfectly good day with Hope, he walked towards the main door. Suddenly that brilliant smile Hannah had shared with him a few hours ago flashed through his mind and he realized that this trip was worth it. Hope was with her family who love her but Hannah! She needed some change even if that change was him.

He stopped in his track as his gaze went to the light from the bulb at the entrance of the guesthouse illuminating the path. He stood rooted at the spot for a few minutes looking at the door wondering, not really knowing what he was thinking. Finally he turned his back towards the guesthouse, used his key to gain access to his home not wanting to face Caroline and her questions, punched in the security code after closing the door behind him. He sighed with relief, he headed towards the stairs. Climbing two steps at a time he reached the top. After placing the bag just outside his own room he headed to Hope's room. She as expected was fast asleep careless to what was happening in her life. He felt a twinge in his heart as he looked at his motherless daughter and an absentee father. _How much life would have been different if Eden were alive? Only if he had listened to her. If he had confessed his feelings for her. Would she have once again relapsed into ignoring their daughter? Would she have continued to take out her bitterness on their daughter for being deprived of the money her father had promised her for delivering a boy?_ A bitter taste settled in his mouth. _But she was spending more time with her during the last days before she died._ He reasoned with himself. Are _you_ spending time with your daughter? His conscious pricked at him again. _Tomorrow. Tomorrow he will spend time with her._ Promising himself, he fixed her blanket tucked her stuff toy with her he quietly retreated the room. He picked up his bag and entered his room. Deciding against taking the shower, he peeled off his shirt and jeans he fell on his bed in his boxers. The moment his head touched the pillow he was fast asleep.

 **In the mean time in New York:**

Camille closed the door behind her softly. She had just come back after spending last couple of hours aimlessly driving and window shopping unable to come to terms with what had happened with Klaus.

" _You_ look lost" Shawn's voice startled her and she almost screamed.

He grinned "I am sorry" looking anything but sorry for getting that reaction from her.

"What are you doing home this early? Isn't today Saturday?"

"Yes. Yes it is a bit early I supposed" He said after examining his wrist watch and then said "oh well. Anyway Amy has her exam day after tomorrow so …." spreading his hands, grinning as if that should be self-explanatory. "Where were you? You have been gone for couple of hours as per Stacy." He peered at her curiously taking in her sullen mode.

"I wanted to spend some time to myself. Have you guys decided on a date?"

"not yet." He hesitated for a moment and then asked cautiously "Stacy told me that Klaus was visiting today."

"Yeah.. So?"

When he didnt answer she looked towards him defiantly and asked instead "how was the flying lesson today?" wanting to change the topic of conversation.

"As usual. Didnt crash the plane." He resorted in his typical light manner style and then hesitated for a moment before continuing "if you don't want to work with him I can take over."

Hearing such a simple offer made her choke but she will be damned if she showed him how upset she was and she will be damned if she confessed that Klaus was still in love with his dead wife. She lost against a dead person. Camille thought sadly. Realizing that he was waiting for her reply she said "why? No. That project is good for my portfolio."

"I dont want you to break down like last time" he said softly.

"What do you mean?" She asked looking anywhere but him.

"I am your twin Camille. Did you really think that I didnt know what was happening with you three years ago. I wanted to murder the bastard for encouraging you and then getting married to that Eden." He resorted in vehemence shocking her.

"It was not his fault. From what I understand it was a business merger sort of things between those two families and dont call him that."

"Whatever." Shawn said now getting angry "I didnt even want to start this new venture with him but dad thinks that it is a good idea and you know how much he respected Mr. Stantson."

"I know. It is sad that he died."

"Yeah."

"Listen I am tired. I am going to sleep. Will I see you tomorrow? I am leaving in the afternoon."

"Of course" he walked to her, kissed her head and headed towards his room while Camille went to the kitchen to get something to eat.

 **Mystic Falls:**

Sunday morning Caroline's cell phone ringing woke her up. She picked it up sleepily, peered at the time with one eye still shut and groaned when she saw that it was just shy of seven. She muttered sleepily "hello."

"Ms. Stantson" hearing a hoarse voice she sat up.

"Nessa! You dont sound good."

"I am better but I was wondering if I can get the morning off." She replied

"Of course" She groaned but knew that a sick Nessa will not be able to take care of Hope. "Rest. Come when you feel better. Take plenty of fluids."

"Thanks." She replied before disconnecting.

Caroline stretched as well as groaned but threw the covers back to get up. _Hope will be up in fifteen minutes or so,_ she thought as she brushed her teeth and put on her jeans and shirt. Twenty minutes later Caroline peeked into Hope's room and seeing her up, making faces at the goldfish in the small aquarium, she smiled. Her heart warmed up to the little girl she had come to love from the bottom of her heart. Pity she had Eden for a mother. Shaking her head she walked towards her saying "good morning munchkin. What are you doing?"

"Playing" she replied in a sing song voice as she tucked her stuffed elephant under her arm and knocked at the glass wall of the aquarium.

Caroline bend near her to gaze at the goldfish with Hope and said softly "lets feed them before we have our breakfast. Should we?"

She smiled as Hope nodded excitedly and opened the drawer to get the fish food. Caroline helped her take out a pinch of the fish food and put it in the aquarium. When they were done she said "now our turn. Lets change and go down to have breakfast. What do you want to have?" as she scoop her up and carried her to the bathroom to wash her face.

Hope said "waffles. Daddy?" as Caroline settled her down on the counter.

Caroline said while washing her face "I think he is back and is resting. So we have to be really really quiet. Can you be quiet?"

"Yes" Hope exclaimed excitedly as Caroline put the sweater dress on her. Caroline smiled and shook her head and said "softly. In door voice. Remember."

"like this?" she asked in a relatively low volume.

"Yes like that" Caroline replied softly as she led Hope toward the kitchen.

After settling her down in the kitchen with a plate of waffles she said "Joseph, I will be back in five minutes. Keep an eye on her."

Caroline hurried upstairs to her room to get her cell phone thinking about contacting Stefan to know what he had decided but then she realized that it was Sunday and too early in the morning so she changed into her running clothes, put on her running shoes and headed downstairs again.

"Hey munchkin you are done. Lets go for a walk to clear my head" Speaking the last part of the sentence for herself. She picked Hope up, put on her a jacket and hat and headed out.

Hayley yawned and stretched as she entered her kitchen. The chilly morning was promising a chilly day. Checking the clock on the microwave she realized that it was nine. She opened the coffee jar and then gaped at the empty coffee jar and groaned. Seeing it empty made her realize that her intake of coffee during the last week had increased. Oh well, living near Klaus demanded coffee. She reasoned herself. After wondering for a few moments she grabbed her jacket and headed towards the back entrance of the kitchen in the main house.

When he woke up he felt mentally drained. Checking at this wrist watch he realized that it was almost nine in the morning. He wanted to sleep a few more hours but remembering his intentions of spending the day with Hope he got out of the bed, went to the bathroom to take a warm shower to freshen up. While standing under the shower he realized that he still had to take care of his father's personal affects, his office mainly. He couldn't postpone that task any longer. Maybe he can spend a couple of hours doing that before spending time with Hope, he decided while drying himself. He put on a faded pair of jeans with a well worn shirt.

Five minutes later he opened his father's study and stepped into it. It had been more than a week since he had passed away and he had managed to keep himself so busy to not thinking about him and away from his study. He looked around the elegant room with mahogany colored desk standing in front of the huge window facing the garden. The right side of the room was covered with the same colored pure wood shelves filled with his father's books- the passion he had shared with his father. On the opposite wall was a huge painting he had done immediately after his marriage to Eden. He stared at the family photos placed on the desk and walked towards them. Looking at Eden's picture he had seen countless time, he picked it up and his heart clutched in his fist. She was in her early teens in that picture and she was smiling at whoever had taken that picture. A frown appeared on his forehead as he realized that she never smiled like that during their marriage. Thinking about her brought the all too familiar guilt and regrets so he hastily put the picture upside down and walked behind the desk and sat down on his revolting chair. He stared at the white leather sofa chair placed behind the desk and the matching sofa set over an afghan carpet. He sighed and ideally opened the drawer. It was meticulously organized. His hand grazed his wallet. He picked it up opened it and stared at his ID card. Sense of loss was making his heart heavy. This was not fair. He only knew the man for four years but he got the love for the past twenty seven years. Pity Eden knew more about his father than he did, he thought in bitterness. _Eden! Eden! Why was he thinking about her all the time these days?_ He wondered in frustration. _Perhaps because you tried to erase her from your life after she died._ A voice told him. _No!_ He banged the drawer shut and agitatedly opened the next one. The first thing he saw was his father's cheque books. He picked it up, opened it and realized all the pages were used. He was flipping through the pages when his gaze captured the print of the last cheque written on it. The big amount mentioned on it captured his attention. Checking the date he realized that it was 15th March, 2015. Curiosity got the better of him and he tried to figure out the details about the cheque but the only thing that he could read was that it was marked private and written to some Dr. Mehta. Wondering who Dr. Mehta was and why was his father giving him such a big amount, he flipped the cheque book closed.

He got up from the chair and walked towards the bookshelf. Removing a couple of books from the middle shelf revealed the built-in safe deposit box. He punched the digits of the keypad to opened the safe. Expecting the safe to empty, he was shocked to see a handful of bundles of bills. He gaped at the money wondering why was this not mentioned in the bill. Picking up one of bundle he realized that it was note of hundred dollars and then his gaze fell on a file. He put the bundle back and took out the file. It had a few sheets of paper on it. On one glance he realized hat there were financial records of something. More confused at seeing the paper trail of financial record rather than electronic he started to examine them. As his gaze scanned through it he realized that his father was depositing some fixed amount every month to John Hopkins, the same amount he was extracting from his bank account and depositing in this very safety box. Puzzled at why his father was handling such huge transactions personally and not through his accountant he was about to close the safety box when he spotted a small box. He took it out and opened it to reveal a beautiful ruby ring- the family heirloom that he had given to Eden when they had gotten married on his father's insistence. Seeing the ring in the safe shocked him for he had never once thought about that ring and just now realized that he had assumed that she had taken the ring with her. So she left the ring before she left him or did she send it afterwards but when? She died a day after she left him….. not let you. You kicked her out. A voice reminded him. He gulped at the memory, still staring at the ring. So when? When did she send the ring to Ansel? He thought in frustration. Maybe Ansel got it in the hospital when he had gone to identify her. Even thinking about that made him sick. In the aftermath of what Elijah had found out he had never gotten the courage to ask Ansel about his visit to the hospital. Every time he had felt like asking him, the words that caller had said to him painted a broken picture of Eden. _Identify her?_ _Didnt that mean that her body was beyond recognition?_ He was not brave enough to stomach what really happened to her. He shut the safe still feeling sick as he thought of what must have happened to Eden in that accident which required her body to be identified, keyed in the code again and left the room.

"Where is Hope?" he asked Caroline as he saw her coming towards him.

"With Joseph downstairs. How was New York?"

"Good" he said dismissively and headed towards the kitchen but then stopped and asked "do you know any Dr. Mehta?"

Caroline looked at him in confusion but after a moment she replied "no. Why?"

"Oh. Nothing. I am taking Hope out for a while." He said as he headed towards the stairs.

Caroline nodded appreciatively that he was going to spend some time with Hope today. She, thinking that Klaus will be with Hope she dialed Stefan's number. She said "hello Stefan."

"Caroline. I was going to call you."

"Well" Suddenly feeling awkward on how to approach him but then she squared her shoulder and asked bravely "What have you thought?"

"Listen I cannot make such a big decision like that."

Frustration made her burst making her forget about her awkwardness "Come on Stefan. It will be just one year."

"One year of real marriage. Do you know what you are asking from me?"

"Yes I know" she rolled her eyes "it is just sex Stefan. We can be a couple for a year. Cant we?"

After what seemed like an endless pause he said "I… I am not sure Caroline."

"Hmmm. Alright then. I can ask Damon." She started in anger. "He will be more than willing to…"

"No… Are you out of your mind?" he almost barked at her.

"Yes I am. I have to find a husband in six months. So yeah I am out of my mind." she almost screamed. "Listen if you are not interested then I have to go…."

She was about to disconnect when she heard him say "alright."

"Alright what?" Caroline asked hopefully.

"I will do it."

"You mean you will marry me?" She asked excitedly.

"yes."

"Okay wonderful. We should do it as soon as we can. We need permit to get marry and then we need prenuptial documents. It will take not more than a couple of days."

"Caroline are you sure?"

"Yes I am and if you ask one more time I can get someone else."

"No. I was just making sure that you know what you are getting into Caroline." Stefan said softly.

"I know. I will talk to my lawyer and you can talk to yours and get the necessary documents ready so that when we separate there is no issue."

In the meantime Klaus entered the kitchen. Seeing the empty kitchen he asked curiously "where is she? Caroline told me that she was with you."

"She is outside playing with Ms. Marshall, Sir."

"Ms. Marshall? Why?" An unexplained fury shot through him making him forget about Eden and the accident that he had been thinking since he had left his father's study. He dashed towards the backyard through the back door in the kitchen.

As he stepped out he saw Hope chattering and Hayley bending near her and listening to her intently. As he saw, Hayley handed her a cookie. Seeing her the image of him kissing her flashed though his mind, him losing his control over _her_. Fury rushed through his body. How could he kiss her?

"What are you doing here Ms. Marshall?" He asked aggressively as he marched towards Hope and took the cookie from her hand snapped at her too "you know that you are not allowed cookie so early in the morning" while Hayley was saying "I … I came to get some coffee ….."

He picked Hope up and said in the same tone "I told you to stay away from my daughter. Didn't you understand a word I said."

While Hayley was gaping at him in shock, he continued angrily as he eyed the cup of steaming coffee behind her on the ledge of the flower beds "I see you have gotten it" as his gaze went pointedly towards the guesthouse.

"You are scaring her Mr. Mikaelson" Ignoring her heartache she gritted her teeth as she noticed Hope's wobbly lips.

"I will deal with you later" He gritted too and took a now scared Hope, who had sensed something was wrong, to the house.

Hayley stood rooted at the place for a few seconds and then angrily followed him.

Klaus entered the kitchen and ignoring his old servant's reproachful glance stormed out of the kitchen.

Caroline looked up while talking to Stefan as she saw Klaus marching towards her angrily with Hope in his arms. As he approached near her she noticed that Hope was looking scared and was clutching at the front of his shirt. She said "Listen I will call you back in a minute" and disconnected before he could say anything else.

Before she could even ask what happened he asked "where is she?"

"Who?" Caroline asked frightfully for she could see Klaus was in a mood to kill. Her eyes fixed on Hope snuggled against his shoulder. "What happened to her?"

"Nessa"

"Nessa was sick so she had a day off. What is she doing here?" her eyes on Hayley aggressively.

Klaus turned to look towards Hayley shocked that she had followed him "What are you doing here Ms. Marshall?"

"Was she with her _again_?" Caroline asked angrily. "Didn't you understand when…."

"Mr. Mikaelson I understood perfectly clear. Hope came outside and wanted to play. Should I have left her alone?"

"She is just a little girl Ms. Marshall. How can she go out by herself?" Caroline said annoyingly.

Hayley couldn't take anymore of the condescending attitude but bigger things were at stake here. Hope was looking scared. Her only priority was keeping her daughter happy so she kept her cool and said to Klaus instead "she is a child Mr. Mikaelson. Kids can be very…"

"Do you think I am stupid?" He barked as he stormed into Hope's room with frightened Hope in his arms. He put her on the ground saying "stay right there" angrily and left again. Seeing her still standing there, he opened his mouth but before he could say anything else she demanded angrily "what is wrong with you?"

"How dare you talk to him …" Caroline started only to be interrupted by Hayley "I am not talking to you Ms. Stantson. Mr. Mikaelson I am not stealing you daughter."

"You try and I will kill you." He barked. Frustrated at his own volatile reaction to her. There was no reasoning with his anger.

Hayley tried once again "Mr. Mikaelson I just love your daughter…" but he cut her off by saying angrily

"Ms. Marshall you cannot replace your dead daughter with mine."

Hayley blanched. Seeing her getting so pale he flinched and felt like a bastard that he was. He started "damn it! Ms. Marshall that was… " but she had already started to turn to leave. He stepped towards her saying "Ms. Marshall I should…." but she was not listening. He didnt know how and why he doubled his steps and grabbed her arm saying "Hayley…" but before he could continue, could utter the apology that was looming on the tip of his tongue she turned towards him and slapped him hard on his cheek, freed her arm and walked away from him.

Feeling satisfied at reacting the way she had she stormed through the kitchen muttering shakily "I am sorry Joseph for what happened" closing the kitchen door behind her.

Anger made him blind and he started towards the steps when Caroline grabbed his arm and hastily said "let her go Klaus. She was upset. You were wrong here."

He took deep breath to calm himself down but couldn't control his emotions so he freed his arm angrily and stormed to his room.

Even after half an hour he was still angry, the sting of that slap was still on his cheek, her blanched face haunting her, the shame he was feeling for losing his temper like that, making an issue on such a small issue. So what she if wants to spend time with Hope. She probably misses her child. He shouldn't have said that to her. When did he become so crass? He wondered regretfully.

He looked up when the door opened and Caroline entered the room and said "you made the tabloid. About time but with her?" the incredulity was apparent in her voice.

"What do you mean?" Still annoyed and frustrated at his behavior he asked

"Well you took her to the charity gala. Did you think that you will not be photographed and speculative about? But tell me one thing why did you even take her when you hate her so much? You flipped out today. Why?"

Ignoring her last question since he himself was unable to figure out what had gotten into him. Why was he so angry around Hayley Marshall _all the time_? He replied "It is not the first time I have taken my assistant to a function like that."

"Yesss but this is the first time you are looking at someone like that" as she threw the tabloid article in front of him. Klaus picked it up and his eyes widened as his gaze flashed though the article.

"Where is Hope?" He demanded dumping the article on the table.

"In her room. Playing. And yes I checked, she _is_ in her room. How did she sneak out in the first place? She was sitting in the kitchen. I am sure Ms. Marshall came and got her."

Klaus didnt feel like talking about her so he said "she didnt sneak out. Joseph let her out. If he was informed that she was not allowed to go near Ms. Marshall he wouldnt have let her." Remembering Joseph's reproachful glance and Hayley's blanched expressions, suddenly he burst out " _you should have told Joseph. She is your responsibility when Nessa is not here. If you cannot even do that then you better go back…_ "

"You are being rude Klaus." Caroline snapped. "I am not your servant."

 _Serves you right._ A voice told him. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. Why was he taking out his own lack of control of situation on Caroline? It was a genuine mistake. The apology was looming on his lips but he will be damned if he gave it. He stubbornly told himself. It was _her_ fault that he was so crass with Ms. Marshall. Only if she could do one simple thing- keep Hope away from Ms. Marshall. Told Joseph about his orders.

"Anyway I wanted to talk to you about Stefan."

"What about him?" he asked moodily.

Perhaps the disinterest on his face was visible and that is why Caroline snapped "nothing. You dwell on your own misery" and stalked out of the room.

He angrily picked up the article and stared at his and Hayley Marshall's picture clinging to his arm. And Caroline was right, he was looking at her weirdly. Vaguely he remembered James Emerson talking to him while Hayley clutching his arm tightly. He was looking at her because he was pitying her. He reasoned with himself to explain that look. What the hell is this writer talking about. 'Mikaelson fling? Is the grieving husband ready to move on?' She was not his fling! And hell no, he was not falling in love with Ms. Marshall. He crumbled the article and threw it in the bin.

Hayley was furious with Klaus as she paced her room. Sure that she wouldnt be able to spend any time with Hope as long as Klaus was home, she changed her clothes and left the house. She drove aimlessly for a long time ending in front of her old apartment building. She continued to stare at it sitting in the park opposite it remembering the lonely time she had spend there in hopes that some day she wouldnt be lonely. She sighed as she remembered the events of this morning and the last few days and realized that she was still lonely just like her daughter. Hannah! Her heart ached thinking about the little girl. An hour later with a sigh, she got up and drove towards the toy store with Hannah's and Hope's innocent faces plaguing her mind. Walking through the aisles of toys and toys, with aching heart and the deprivation she was feeling for not being able to provide the most precious people in her life with anything, let alone her love, she picked up a doll, a coloring set and a drawing pad. After paying for the items she left the shop. Not wanting to go back to the place to face another day not being able to spend time with her daughter despite her being a couple of feet away from her she headed towards the grocery store to do her grocery and to kill some time.

While Hayley was trying to keep herself busy and not dwell on the miseries of her life, Rebekah dialed Camille's phone number while heading towards the kitchen. As soon as the call connected and she heard Camille's sleepy greeting, she said incredulously "it is almost noon and you are still sleeping!" and then added dismissively with a touch of excitement in her tone "Never mind that. Tell me what happened?"

Camille's sleepy voice came "about what?"

"Well did you go meet him or not?" Rebekah asked with annoyance. "Honestly if you go any slower you will never get him."

"I did." Came a soft but dejected response causing Rebekah to groan even before going into the detail of what really happened but she asked "what happened?"

"I invited him to lunch. We kissed but then he left."

"You kissed?" Rebekah exclaimed excitedly "why are you sounding so dull if you kissed?"

"Because he left Rebekah." Camille said morosely. After a short pause she continued "can we talk about something else?"

"Sure." Rebekah said even though she wants to find out more.

But after this revelation how could she concentrate on anything else even when Camille said "I am coming back tonight. We will catch up then. Daddy is calling me now. I should go."

"Alright but dont worry about Nik. He will come around. Dont give up on him" Rebekah replied as she nodded greetings with Elijah and took out a cup for coffee and disconnected the call.

Elijah picked up his cup of coffee and was checking on his emails when he heard Rebekah saying "dont worry about Nik. He will come around. Dont give up on him."

"Who is worried about Niklaus?"

"Tell me what is wrong with our brother? Does he want to die of loneliness and misery?"

Elijah smiled and asked "what did he do?"

"I don't know why he is not making a move at Camille. She is so smart, pretty and intelligent."

"Because he is still not over Eden." Elijah said absentmindedly.

"What do you mean?" Rebekah spun towards him sloshing some of the coffee on the ground. Muttering an oath she took some paper towel and bend to clean it while asking "what do you mean he is not over Eden? Nik was not in love with Eden."

"Who told you that?" Elijah asked closing his laptop slowly and leaning back in his seat while continuing sipping his coffee.

"What? What are you telling me? _He loved Eden?_ " Rebekah asked throwing the dirty paper towels in the bin shaking head to Maria, the help, that she can do it herself.

"Well Niklaus really cared about Eden. Perhaps even loved her and knowing Niklaus it is really hard for him to open up his heart for someone else like he did for Eden." Elijah said looking into void thinking about Klaus breaking down when he had found out the truth about the pictures but it was too late to do anything. Eden was gone and Niklaus had gone into depression. If that was not love than what was it? "He will not put himself in a situation where is vulnerable to another loss like he suffered with Eden."

"He was in love with Eden?!" Rebekah asked in daze "but he never showed it. They were so aloof."

"Well not every one is that expressive in public. Niklaus we knew already but I guess Eden was like him too. Too private about their personal feelings."

"Oh my. This is all coming from nowhere."

"Hmm. I don't feel comfortable talking about them anymore. And I suggest you dont try to fix him up with anyone right now. If he wants to he will get to it." Elijah said taking another sip of his coffee.

In the tense silence that followed Rebekah and Elijah both drank their coffees. After some minutes Elijah said "what do you think of Ms. Marshall?"

"Hayley Marshall. Ansel's…." she stopped talking as she noticed Elijah's raised eyebrows.

"Tell me you don't believe in those rumors."

"I don't know. But since I have only met her once even though heard a lot about her from Caroline I don't suggest you to go after her. That girl comes with a huge baggage from what I am gathering." Rebekah said evasively.

"Thank you for your concern sister. I think I should go now." Elijah said after putting his cup on the table and left leaving Rebekah reveling in what she had found out.

Klaus sat Hope on his knee as she threw some pieces of bread crumbs for the ducks. He said softly in her hair "I am sorry about the morning. Daddy was just upset."

But Hope didnt say anything and continued to snuggle with him and look at the ducks now eating those bread crumbs.

"Daddy misses mommy very much." He didn't know how and why he was confessing that to his two years old daughter.

"Mommy dead" Hope muttered.

His heart squeezed in his chest. He faced Hope towards her and asked "who told you that?"

"aunt Care" Hope said innocently as she placed her hands on her cheek.

"Oh" Klaus exclaimed. For a briefest moment he wanted to strangle Caroline for being crass with Hope but then he calmed down as he realized that he was working himself up without any evidence. Caroline must have explained it to her properly.

"Where is mommy daddy?" her question shook him.

"Mommy…." Klaus started but didn't know how to continue so he said "mommy is sleeping Hope."

"Wake her up then" Hope said innocently.

"I wish I could" he murmured in her wavy hair but before he could continue Hope had already lost interest in the conversation. She slipped down his lap as she noticed a swan heading towards them. She giggled and ran after it which spooked the bird and it flew a couple of feet away from her which dint discourage Hope as she continued to run towards it. Klaus leaned back on the bench observing his daughter laughing and running around wondering how will he make up for the loss of mother in Hope's life.

"Come on Hope. Lets go have some lunch."

By the time they reached home Hope was exhausted. He took a deep breath of sigh seeing Nessa back. After inquiring about her health he handed Hope to her and said "I will come to tuck her in today after you get her ready for the night."

"Yes Mr. Mikaelson" She replied.

Thirty minutes later he was reading a book to Hope while she sat in his lap and drooped to sleep. He tucked her in and softly closed Hope's bedroom door and turned towards his room when he heard Caroline say "Klaus I want to talk to you about something."

He looked towards her feeling exhausting after spending the day with Hope "If it is about the marriage thing then the answer is still no. I told you to find someone whom you l…"

"I have" she cut him off in the middle.

"Oh?" He intersted.

"Stefan."

"What?" Shocked at her suggestion he turned towards her.

"I have discussed with him."

"When?" Klaus asked still in shock.

"Yesterday. At first he was shocked too but after I explained everything he wants some time to consider it. We talked this morning and he has agreed to it. We will get married for a year and then get an annulment."

Klaus sighed, walked to her and said "don't do it Care. Marry if you love him. Marry someone you love."

"Did you love Eden?" She asked curiously.

He stiffened thinking about what he had recently confessed to Camille, something he had never confessed to anyone out loud not even to Eden herself. After a moment he replied "ours was a different situation."

"It was a business deal. Ours can be too."

"I married her because her father was blackmailing father. It was self preservation." He reasoned.

"I am marrying Stefan because of my share in the property. This is also self preservation."

"Do you love him?" he asked curiously.

"I don't love anyone. Why do you think I dont have a steady boyfriend? Stefan… I do like him. Very much in fact. Does that count?" She asked sarcastically.

"No that does not count" He snapped angrily but Caroline cut him off by saying "what do you want Klaus? Do you want me to lose my share in the company. Is this all this about?"

Klaus gaped at her as if she had lost her mind "do you think I would stoop this low?"

"Who knows? Dad only knew you what, for four years and he gave you everything without any condition but me! I have been his daughter since I was one month old but he put such a harsh decision on me. That is not fair and you know it. But you didnt say anything. I guess you thought that I will never go through with it. Well you were wrong." she said defiantly.

He looked at her in shock for they had their share of arguments in the past four years but not like this. He wanted to shake her and remind her that he had to keep Ms. Marshall in the office but her words were digging holes in his heart. He knew defeat, he could see it staring back at him with defiance. He sighed and said "don't make any rash decision. Think over it."

"I have. I just wanted to let you know. We are getting married as soon as he get the marriage license and I will get my ten percent by the end of one year."

Without listening to anything else from him she turned and left him standing there dumbfounded. Standing there endlessly he slowly turned and went to his room.

When Hayley reached Haven it was late. Without looking towards the big house she entered the guesthouse, put the groceries in the kitchen, went to her room, changed her clothes, took out the big blue bag from the back of her closet and settled down on the walking closet carpeted floor. She opened it with heavy heart and stared at the gifts she had gathered for Hope and Hannah during the last two years - gifts for their birthdays, gifts she bought whenever she missed them. She touched each and everything with longing and then placed the newly purchased doll, the drawing set and the pad in it too. She closed the bag with a snap as she cursed Klaus, put it back behind her clothes so that she does not have to see it every day. She walked to her bed, curled up in her bed and went to bed without eating anything.

Next morning when her eyes opened she didnt want to go to the office. She stayed under the cozy covers staring outside the window counting from backwards, not wanting to think about anything. She was failing. She was failing miserably. She stared at her cell as it started ringing and chose not to pick it up. When the ringing didnt stop she put the pillow over her head to block the voice but the caller was persistent. When it continued again, she sighed and picked it up. She knew it was going to be him but still seeing his name on the caller Id made her depressed.

"Hello."

"Where are you? It is eight thirty" came his bark.

"I quit." She replied. "Get your precious Kara back" and placed the cell back on the table.

Klaus stared at the phone wondering what the hell was wrong with her. _You wanted her to quit and she has quit. What's the big deal? Should be a matter of victory._ Before he knew what he was doing he was punching the number again and barked before even listening to her

"Ms. Marshall be in the office in half an hour" and then without waiting for her reply he disconnected.

He stared at his cell in dismay unable to believe what he had just done. He couldn't believe what was happening. His temper was haywire these days. One second he was calm and the next he was blowing off the roof. One moment he wanted one thing and the next another. He wanted her to quit and when she tried to, he didn't let her quit. What the hell? She was messing him up? Who does she think she is? So he was a bit crass yesterday but that does not mean that she become a drama queen. _No, you were not a bit crass, you were mean and hurtful._ A tiny voice said. He huffed in frustration, got up and starting pacing the office. _Alright so what he did yesterday was not right. He was mean to her. He deserved that slap. He should apologize to her. First thing she comes back he will apologize. Maybe he should change his behavior with her. Maybe he should have her once and get over with this suppressed sexual attraction towards her._ He looked at his wrist watch. One hour had passed since he had called her and she had not come to the office. How dare she defy her? He thought angrily. Okay he had made a mistake but that does not mean…. He stopped his thinking process. Didn't mean what? You deserve what you got. He pulled the door open and started towards the elevator when he saw a moment out of the corner of his eyes. He turned towards her desk and saw her sitting on it.

He stalked to it asking "when did you come?"

"Fifteen minutes" she replied adamantly looking straight into his eyes.

He could see anger and something else in her eyes. Something he couldn't figure out but it made him uncomfortable.

He shifted on his feet uncomfortably and then said hesitantly "Ms. Marshall I am sorry for what I said early. I know that you lost you daughter and what I said to you was really crass."

Suddenly she was shouting "who the hell do you think you are? …." taking him by surprise for he had never seen her act like that, lose her temper like that well except for yesterday when she had slapped him which he was realizing more and more that he deserved.

"I…" he started but then stopped as her gaze went to the elevator. He turned towards it and sighed as he saw someone walking towards them.

"we will talk about it later."

"No we will not. I am not going to be working for you. I am giving my notice today. You are not worth working with."

Klaus felt she had squashed him.

"Send Mr. Domaikus in" He hissed as he went back in his office.

After Mr. Domaikus meeting Klaus picked up the intercom and said "come in."

A minute later she entered the room with the notepad in her hand. He said curtly pushing his father's laptop towards her "unlock it."

She glared at him and then towards the laptop and asked "is that Ansel's?"

The softness in her voice made him look at her curiously as she walked towards the laptop. Her fingers lovingly caressed the laptop as she flipped it open and she entered Ansel's password to unlock the password and then pushed the laptop towards him not knowing that he was observing her throughout.

She opened her mouth to say something but he was already dragging the laptop towards him and without looking towards her he said "that will be all. And unless there is a meeting dont disturb me."

Gritting her teeth, she started "I want to talk to you about my notice."

"Later" he said as he scanned the content being displayed before him.

Hayley groaned and uttered a foul word for him under his breath and left the room.

A moment later he heard the door close softly. He looked up for a moment and then looked down. With a sigh he opened his father's account and started going through the emails. He had been postponing taking care of this for a while now. He wanted to take care of any important emails.

It was mid afternoon and she was debating whether she should take his coffee to him or not when the elevator door opened and a middle age woman walked out. She groaned but she stood up and smiled "hello Mrs. Mikaelson."

"Hello" she replied smilingly "do we know each other?"

Hayley suddenly realized her mistake. Yes we knew each other but not anymore. You knew me as Eden. She said to herself. "No we dont but as Mr. Mikaeslon PA, it is my job to know his family members. I will inform Mr. Mikaelson of your arrival."

"If you don't mind I want to surprise him."

"Oh no problem. Go ahead." She smiled.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Thoughts about this chapter?_**


	11. In plain sight

**_A/N: Thanks for the wonderful comments. A few people are interesting in knowing about Hayley and Elijah interaction, they will definitely have it but not the romantic kind since Hayley/Eden is still married to Klaus. And remember that Hayley/Eden think that Elijah and Klaus both were in that conspiracy to discredit her honor in Klaus's eyes so no she will not go out with Elijah. lol. And about Dr. Mehta, lets see what Klaus finds out._**

 ** _Synopsis: Esther and Klaus try to achieve peace. Ansel's personal affects reveal an unexpected information which leads to some startling discoveries. Caroline announces her marriage date._**

* * *

Klaus had his head buried in his father's laptop when the door opened. He said, annoyed and without looking up "I told you not to disturb me."

"I told her not to tell you about my arrival" the unexpected voice made him look up.

He slowly shut the laptop and stood up saying "mother."

After slight awkward hesitation he asked "how are you?"

"I am good. I thought I should make the visit since you will not come."

"I was busy. I apologize." He replied as he gestured her to take a seat. Resentment already settling in his heart.

After a few awkward moments Esther started "Niklaus I came to convey my condolences on Ansel's death. He was a good man. I…" only to be interrupted by him saying "he deserved better. _I_ deserved better."

She sighed and continued "yes I know. I am sorry that you didnt get to spend too much time with your father."

"And whose fault is that mother?" The words were out before he could stop them. When she remained quiet he continued, his voice rising with each word "After not attending his funeral" he slashed his hand in the air impatiently "not because you were once knew him. For heaven sake you were his fiancé once but because he was the father of your son, do you think your coming here will absolve you of depriving Ansel and me a chance to have a life together instead of me send off to that boarding school for the better part of my life. Tell me mother, if I had not made the connection myself and confronted you, would you have ever told me about my true parentage?"

Her silence was quiet telling which just fueled his fury and he said angrily jerking up from his seat "Its a good thing then that I landed a job in his company and figured out his relationship with mine."

"I suppose so. I was afraid that you might figure out if you continue to work in his company and that is why I was against your working there. Niklaus you have to understand that …." she paused for a moment and then continued dejectedly "I honestly thought that you were mine and Mikael's son."

The control lid he had kept on his temper ever since he had found out the deception his mother had shown him blew up and he scoffed at that "I don't even want to listen to any more of this. How can someone be confused about something like that? No. Don't answer me. It was a rhetorical question."

She sighed in defeat and went to the window, her back facing him. "Don't judge me for something that I thought I was doing for best of my family."

"So you sacrificed one child for others?"

She started pleadingly "Mikael was threatening to leave me and the kids. I was weak. I had others to think about Niklaus….we were married. It was a mistake…." She stopped talking, stricken with shock at what she had said when Klaus interrupted viciously.

"A mistake?"

He mused over it but before he could say anything Esther hastily said "No Niklaus you misunderstood. _You_ were not a mistake. Cheating on Mikael was a mistake. Having you was the biggest joy of my life. Mikael was so proud of you when you were born…."

"Please mother. No more lies. You should have send that _mistake_ to him ….my father. You knew all along, since that surgery I had when I was five."

Deliberately ignoring him referring to himself as mistake, she said defeatedly "yes I knew. It was then that we discovered that your blood group was different from ours. But I couldn't. I couldn't tell Ansel, Niklaus. My reputation. Mikael's. Our family. Everything would have been ruined."

"Of course. What is more important than reputation?" Klaus said sarcastically.

She stayed quiet for a moment and then with determination she started again "Niklaus I cannot change what happened in the past. All I can ask from you is to forgive me and your father…. I mean Mikael." She paused, took a deep breath and continued "I dont want what happened in our past to affect our future, repeat the mistakes I made."

"What do you mean?" He asked in confusion.

"When can we meet our granddaughter?" She asked looking at him sternly.

When he remained quiet she continued "I send you away from your siblings and deserted you to escape Mikael's anger. You were only six years old then. You needed you family. You needed _me_ and I send you to the boarding school. You are doing the same thing by keeping Hope away form her family. When she will grown up, she will feel like you felt all those years. Abandoned."

A gasp escaped his mouth. _How dare she compare what she did to him to his situation?_

"Hope is with her family. She is with me mother. She is with her aunt. She is banished to a boarding school where she is visited by her parent once a month…."

"Niklaus…" she started again but he was ready to hash out his resentment bottled up during all those years so he said "I used to wonder why couldnt I stay home with Elijah and Rebekah and Kol. Why did my father, the only father I knew back then, hate me? Why did my mother not visit me as much as other kids'? Do you have any idea what it was like to be lonely and living with the feeling that you were abandoned and the people who abandoned you were your own flesh and blood."

Hearing a gasp from her mouth made him eventually stop from his rant. He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration now regretting his outburst. He never shared his feelings with anyone so what was happening to him? First he told Camille about how he really felt about Eden and now he was ranting about something that happened a life time ago. He is a grown man now. He should be able to overcome all those insignificant feelings.

"I am sorry Niklaus."

'J _ust that! What does she want from him? A forgiveness? Just like that? How can he forgive and forget what was done to him?'_ He thought in frustration as he paced the length of the room angrily like a caged tiger.

When he didnt say anything she continued "Niklaus we _are_ her family whether you like it or not. Her mother is gone. She needs someone…"

"She has me." Klaus interrupted curtly.

"She needs more. She deserves more." She replied softly.

"Yes she deserves more but unfortunately she only has me."

"Niklaus" Esther started "Regardless of what happened, regardless of what you think, I do love you. Your siblings love you. They miss you. I think even Mikael misses you but his pride was dented when I cheated on him and he realized that the son he was so proud of was never his. My son, we both were and still very weak. We both love each other very much and in an effort to make things right we have hurt you the most. Please forgive us."

Klaus walked around the desk and sat on his chair just to hide how his legs were shaking in fury. He felt trapped. _This was not fair. She wanted him to forgive her and she was using Hope as a pawn. He wanted to forget his past, the hurt that he had endured all these years of loneliness, Mikael's allusiveness and the shock of finding out that he was not even the son of the man he thought as his father for twenty three years of his life._ Seeing his mother looking at him hopefully made him feel awkward. He leaned forward and said "my whole life was based on a lie. You cannot expect me to forget about everything. Do you?"

* * *

Hayley was about to enter the room with the coffee along with some refreshments when she heard Klaus saying "my whole life was based on a lie. You cannot expect me to forget about everything. Do you?"

She paused and started to turn when she heard Esther say "I know my son but even wanting to I cannot change my past. I just dont want you to cut us off from your life."

And she understood. She understood what Esther was talking about. She was here to make up with her son at last. She smiled despite the resentment towards Klaus. _About time_ , she thought. She could sense the regret in her voice. Knowing the history between Klaus and his parents, she felt a surge of sympathy for both Klaus and Esther. She of all the people knew what it felt like to be trapped in a situation from which you could never come out and you are forced to take steps that hurt people that you love. She turned back towards the door and after softly knocking entered the room.

* * *

He started "give me some…." but then stopped talking when the door opened and Hayley entered the room with two cups of coffee on a tray along with some refreshments.

She silently placed them in front of them and retreated the room.

Esther wiping her eyes made him realize that she was crying, plunging him in the pool of guilt. Before he could say anything she picked up her coffee and said "your new personal assistant. Do you know who she reminds me of?"

"Who?" he asked as he sipped his coffee.

"Eden of course."

"Eden?" He looked at her in shock and confusion trying to recall number of times she had actually met Eden but then he smiled sadly "she is not like Eden mother."

"Of course not but there is something about her. She does remind me of her."

He leaned back as he sipped his coffee observing his mother's sad face. Deep down he knew that he needed to move on, leave the past behind him. For his sake, for his mother sake, for his siblings sake, for his daughter's sake. His daughter. Hope. His mother was right. Hope should not be deprived of her family. Her grandfather has already died. She didnt get to know him well. But her grandmother was alive. He should improve his relationship with his family, for his daughter's sake. She has a loving aunt, loving uncles. He shouldnt deprive her of those relationships at least. If he continued at this path he will give her the same childhood that he himself had. He had kind of locked Hope in a luxurious boarding school where her only visitor was her father and even he was so busy that he often went days without seeing her. Guilt filled his heart. Before he could say anything his mother got up saying "I should go now. Should I expect your visit over the weekend? Perhaps with Hope?"

Hearing the hopefulness in her voice made him feel uncomfortable.

"Of course" he said relatively softly as he showed her to the door. His gaze went to Hayley looking down at her work. He continued to look at her for a few moments before going back into his room. While walking towards his chair he realized his mother was right. There was something about her like her voice sometimes, her smell and a certain look on her face sometimes. Perhaps that was the reason she was getting under his skin. He sighed and opened his father's laptop again.

He was reading an email regarding some accounts when it hit him that he still needed to take care of his father's personal accounts. He picked up his phone and said to Hayley "connect me to my father's accountant" and disconnected absentmindedly.

After a few minutes Hayley called and patched him to his father's personal accountant. He said "Mr. Stanley, I trust you must have cancelled all of my father's accounts including the ones which are operating on automatic payments."

"Yes Mr. Mikaelson."

He thought for a moment and then asked "do you anything about him donating some funds to John Hopkins?"

"No sir." Came a confused response.

"Alright."

He was about to put the phone down when Mr. Stanley said "Sir, I have closed all his automatic payments except for two. One that was linked to Amanda charity and the other is linked to a safe deposit box he owned. He used to pay an annual fee for that account. What do you want me to do about that? Should I stop that one too?"

Klaus thought for a moment and then said "Send the details about the charity account to my accountant and cancel that payment setup. Ms. Marshall can give you his contact information. And send me the details about the bank and the safety deposit box. Let me get back to you about that."

After disconnecting he turned to the emails again. A few minutes later he got an alert from his own email account telling him that he had a new email. Realizing that it was the detail of the bank that his father was paying the annual fee, he decided to call them. He picked up the intercom and said to Hayley "connect me to manager of Chase branch on Lincoln Avenue. Tell him its about a safety deposit box in their bank if he gives you some grief" and put the phone down.

* * *

Hayley gritted her teeth steaming in anger at his lack of manner. _Just two more weeks._ She told herself as she dialed the desired number after finding it from the internet.

After a few minutes she dialed back to Klaus and said "Mr. Mikaelson, Stars is on the line for you" and just like he had hung up on her, she hung up, got up from her seat to go get coffee.

* * *

Klaus said "Mr. Stars. This is Niklaus Mikaelsson of Falcon Industries."

"What can I do for you Mr. Mikaelson? Your PA told me that it was about a safety deposit box in our bank."

"Mr. Stars, my father, Ansel Stantson, had a safety deposit box with you which I was just informed of today. My father died last week. I was just wondering if I could have a look at it."

"Ansel Stantson? Hmm let me have a look" After a short pause and hearing the keys clicking he heard the manager say "Mr. Mikealson we dont have any safety deposit box under your father's name."

He said with a frown "what do you mean? My father is paying an annual fee for an box there."

"Hmm that is confusing. Do you have the box number?"

"Of course. The number is 515."

A few minutes later he replied "515. Yes we do have that account but …"

"but what" Klaus asked.

"That box does not belong to your father Mr. Mikealson."

"Who does it belong to?"

There was silence for a moment and then the manager said "of course. Mrs. Elizabeth Emerson and her daughter Eden Emerson are joint owner to the account. And it was opened a long time ago. Almost twenty five years ago."

He sat up abruptly and said "Eden Emerson?"

"Yes."

"How can I get access to that box? Eden Emerson was my wife." He explained with racing heart, wondering why had his father been paying for Eden safety box and why Eden never told him about the box.

"You cannot access that box Mr. Mikaelson. Only Mrs or Ms. Emerson can access that box or if it was in anyone's trust."

He started angrily "but my wife and her mother are …" he paused for a moment and spoke in daze "dead. You said _trust?_ "

When he manager said "yes" he said "Thank you."

He put the phone down and then despite the work in the office, feeling the desire to get to the bottom of this issue, he abruptly stood up and headed out.

While passing by her desk he said "I am going home Ms. Marshall. Cancel all of my meetings today except for really important ones. Call me if something important comes up" and headed towards the elevators without explaining anymore.

Half an hour later he parked his car outside his house and entered the house. As he stepped in, Hope came running towards him shouting excitedly "daddy daddy."

Klaus picked her up even though he was feeling jittery and wanted to go and check out his father's will. He was sure that he had read something about a trust in there. But what was it? That, he couldn't recall what was it about.

"Hope I have to do some work. Caroline can you please take her." He called Caroline as he climbed the stairs.

On reaching the top of the stairs he put Hope down missing her pouty lips as his attention was focused on Caroline walking towards them saying "you are home early today."

"yes I have something important to do. I have to leave afterwards too." He said impatiently as he headed towards his home office vaguely hearing Caroline saying to Hope "lets go out and play Hope."

A few minutes later he was pondering through his father's will and found what he was looking for. Ansel was in fact responsible for a safe deposit box in Chase. And he had named Klaus as his successor trustee. Wondering why would his father do that, he took out his phone and called Ben. "Ben I have a situation here."

After explaining to him, he said "I have the trust document with me and the proof that my father has named me the successor trustee of that box. What do I need else to access that safe deposit box Ben?"

"A copy of that trust document and the proof that you were named the trustee by your father. You will also have to provide Eden and Mrs. Emerson's death certificates. Do you want me to handle anything?"

"Hmm" he said and leaned back. He then said "no. I will get back to you about this issue later." As he put the cell down, for the first time he acknowledged that sinking feeling in his stomach and he realized what it was. He will have to revisit Eden's death all over again. He has to obtain her death certificate, something that he had never bothered to even think about before today. He started pacing the room feeling helpless. At last running his fingers through his hair, he took out his cell and dialed Lucien's number but after a few rings when he didnt attend the call, he disconnected.

* * *

In the meantime Hayley managed to get his meetings with Stefan and a few other business associates postponed. She had an idea why he got his schedule cleared. Considering that he had no work for her since he had dismissed her after getting Ansel's laptop unlocked, she had gathered that today he was taking care of Ansel's emails and unfinished business. She wondered. _Shouldn't he have required her presence in dealing with Ansel's unfinished business? After all she was Ansel's PA for almost a year._

Do you honestly think that he requires your help in dealing with Ansel's business or you just want to be in his company? A guilty conscious probed her and she dismissed the thought as her cheeks had turned crimson with guilt. Recalling how curt he sounded when he had left, she felt a tinge of empathy for him. In addition to dealing with his father's memories, his mother must be very taxing. She mused. She startled when she heard a voice "umm Hayley."

She looked up and saw Tristan standing there. She smiled at him and asked "how are you Tristan?"

"I am good Hayley. I miss you at Ansel's office."

"Yes me too. How are you liking your relocation?"

"It is good but not the same."

"I know what you mean." She replied looking around the small reception area lacking all the warmth of Ansel's office.

"Listen I was wondering if you would like to go for a drink afterwards?"

"umm…." taken aback by the invitation, she wondered what to do. Her first instinct was to refuse. Her gaze instinctively flew to Klaus's office door then back to Tristan realizing that he was waiting of her reply. _There is no harm in going out with someone. It is just two friend going out. She is not cheating on him. In his eyes she is dead. That is not cheating. She is a different person now, has a new role to play. And since she couldnt bring herself to go back to the place where she couldnt spend time with her daughter despite the fact that she was a few yards away from her, she should go out and at least try to enjoy until it is time to go home and just sleep._

"Sure but I am not sure when I will get off today Tristan."

"No problem. I can wait. I too have some work to do today so will be working late. Just give me a call before you are leaving."

"Okay, sure."

Tristan smiled and left after saying "see you later and left."

After he left, she stared at the door and buried herself in her work. She startled when her cell rang. Seeing his name on the caller Id she picked it up and said "Mr. Mikaelson?"

"Do I have any meetings in the evening?" He asked without ceremony.

Hayley gritted her teeth and said "no."

Klaus said "then you can leave. I have some personal business to take care of, I will not be coming back to the office."

Hayley nodded and then realized what she was doing so and said "alright."

And put the cell phone down.

She stared at the computer screen for a while and then she picked up the cell and called Tristan.

* * *

Klaus put his cell on the desk and went to sit behind it. He opened his laptop and delved into his work but the questions about that safety deposit box and his father's connection to Eden's mother were distracting him. He startled when he noticed the door creaking a bit. He looked towards it and a smile started to form on his face when he saw Hope's innocent face peeking through the creek. Remembering how he had snubbed her in the afternoon, he motioned her to come in "come in Hope."

Hope excitedly pushed the door wide open and ran towards him.

He picked her up and settled her down on his lap as he continued to do his work.

When Hope put her head on his shoulder, he felt a peace settled in his heart for the first time since his mother had walked into this office this morning.

* * *

While Klaus was working from home, Hayley sat across Tristan and accepted the drink the server placed in front of her. She smiled awkwardly, feeling guilty wondering _if she was cheating on her wedding vows. She was on a date. Not a date, just an outing with a friend. She told herself firmly. And even if she was, so what? Wasn't he with another women just a few days ago?_

 _But he thinks he is a widower. You, on the other hand know the truth._ That voice reminded her. Oh how she hated that voice. She shook her head without realizing what she was doing until Tristan asked "what is it? What is that frown on your face?"

"OH nothing." She smiled but then she said "I am surprised you asked me out."

"You mean that I should believe those rumors about you and Mr. Stantson?" He smiled.

"You dont?" she asked curiously.

"Of course not" He replied casually. "Anyone with good pair of eyes can see that you two were just friends."

She smiled at him gratefully and started to relax a bit.

Just when she had started to relax he said "I was however surprised to see you working for Mr. Mikaelson."

"Why were you surprised?" she asked casually while her heart started to thud against her chest. She picked up the silverware idly to keep her jittery hand busy.

"Well it is no secret that he hates you. Sorry I shouldnt have said that" he added peevishly.

"No worries. As for the job, that is temporary. In fact I am looking for another job if you have any in mind. Not the office job this time though" She didnt know where it came from but she was sure that she didnt want office job.

Tristan leaned forwards placing his hand on the table casually touching her fingers. Hayley's heart jumped into her throat. She said "oh… I dont know. I dont want nine to five for a while. I want something when I can go at any time I want to. I want to spend some time on my own. I love to teach dance. I am thinking of doing private dance classes which I can give at any time I want to. I love kids. The nine to five office job is not really nine to five. It takes a long time before I get home." She knew she was babbling but the contacts between their hands even though innocent was making her nervous.

Tristan said excited as he leaned forward in his chair and grabbed her hand "Oh but that is wonderful. My sister Aurora is looking for a dance teacher for her children. What kind of dance do you teach?"

"Really?" she leaned forwards excitedly, forgetting that he was holding her hand now "oh all sorts. …..Do you… do you.." she paused a moment but then squared her shoulders and asked "do you think you can arrange an interview with her?"

"Of course" Tristan replied with a smile.

"Thanks." she smiled as she looked into his friendly face. She realized that she really liked Tristan. He was the only one who didnt treat her like a leper when the rumors about her and Ansel were circulating the office but the moment the thought crossed her mind that intrusive voice again said _"you are married. What do you think you are doing?"_

 _"Oh shut up"_ she murmured.

"Did you say something? Tristan asked.

Hayley shook her head smilingly and said "I should be going home. This was wonderful Tristan. I really needed it today." She gently pulled her hand out of his grasp, picked up her handbag and got up.

As he walked her out of the bar, she thanked him once again and they both headed towards their respective cars.

* * *

He settled Hope in her bed with her bunny tucked under her arms, a smile on his lips despite the day he had, as he thought about the time they had spend together. As he was closing Hope's door, he heard Caroline say "Klaus, Stefan got the necessary documents. We will be getting married over the weekend." Klaus groaned but knowing that he couldn't do anything he nodded "I hope you are not making a mistake Care."

"I am not. I have gotten the necessary document made too. Ben got them for me. It will be okay" she told him confidently. "I am happy" She smiled and went to her room.

He sighed and went to his room, stripped his clothes, took a quick shower and went to the bed. Sleep was nowhere near. He couldn't stop thinking about his day, about his conversation with his mother, about his conversation with the bank manager. He couldn't stop wondering about that safety deposit box, about her father's connection to Eden's mother. He didn't know when he fell asleep. He dreamt of Eden smiling at him but as his hand extended towards her, she changed into Ms. Marshall causing him to wake up. He groaned and sat up.

* * *

Next morning while changing for the office, Hayley was so distressed while putting on her shirt that it took her a while to realize that she was wearing it inside outside. With frustration, she took it off and turned it out and wore it again. _It was Hannah's birthday in three days. What wouldn't she have done if only, if only she had her with her right now. She couldn't do anything for that little girl. She deserved so much. So much had already been taken from her in such a little age. The least she can do is send her a gift. But what if her father finds out?_ She quivered in her low heels that she had just put on. James Emerson wouldn't be happy if Hannah received a gift from someone. But how long will she continue to live like that. She has to do something, Hayley realized and then with determination she slid the bag she had hid behind her clothes out and took out the pink headphones. After putting on her makeup she headed out of her room. Twenty minutes later she parked her car outside the postoffice. When she came out she felt relieved and relaxed. She smiled as she thought _'a birthday treat for herself.'_ Feeling bubbly she got into the car and drove towards the office ready to deal with Klaus's shenanigans.

* * *

When he reached the office she was already there. Remembering the dream he had this morning he felt awkward. _It was time for her to leave._ He told himself before he said "good morning Ms. Marshall."

She replied solemnly "Good morning Mr. Mikaelson."

He nodded and headed towards his room.

After putting his laptop bag on the table, he took out his cell and dialed a number. As soon as the call connected he said "Lucien, Klaus Mikaelson here. Have been trying to get hold of you since yesterday."

"Yes, Klaus I saw your missed calls but couldn't get back to you. Anyway what's up?"

"I need you to get the death certificate from Central Medic in New York for my wife. Eden Mikaelson."

"Alright. I have a contact over there so this shouldn't take long."

As he was putting his cell down the door opened and she walked in with his morning cup of coffee. She put the coffee in front of him and placed an envelop in front of him and said "Mr. Mikaelson I wanted to tell you that I am giving my two week notice today."

He kept an eye contact with her refusing to give in to that little voice urging him to tear that notice. She turned on her heel and left.

A few minutes later he was still gazing at the envelop on the table telling himself to feel relieved that she had finally quit. He was getting his life back. He startled when his intercom rang. He said "yes"

"Kara wants to talk to you" she said as she transferred the call. He looked down at his notepad and with shock realize that he was writing Hayley repeatedly- the page was full of her name. He groaned and then started when he realized that someone was talking in his ear. He said "what did you say?"

Kara said "Mr. Mikaelson, why weren't you there?"

"Where?" he asked in confusion crumpling the paper.

"The Alcot. That painting was auctioned yesterday. I was expecting to see you. I thought of calling you but then I thought you wouldn't miss such a big event unless there is an emergency."

He stared at the desk absentmindedly and then sat up as it hit him what she was saying and he said angrily "yesterday? Are you telling me that the ' _Madonna and the child'_ has been sold?

"Yes but dont worry. _You_ are the owner of that painting now."

"How did you?" He asked curiously.

"I still have access to your accounts. When I realized that you are not coming I bid it for you. You are 50k short now" she ended with a friendly laughter.

"Thanks Kara. You are best. _If I had missed it Ms. Marshall was in huge trouble._ " Why did he say that? He wondered in confusion.

"Oh then that is good that I bought it for you. I dont know how could she miss it. I am pretty sure that I marked it for you. I marked it ages ago."

"yes I am sure you are right. Actually now I remember I told her to cancel all my appointments yesterday" He didnt know why he was defending Hayley Marshall when in his heart he knew that she had done that intentionally. She was upset with him yesterday and she took her revenge with him by not telling him about this appointment. Sure that Kara must have marked it important she must have known that and ignored to tell him when he called her last evening. He startled when he heard her ask "Well anyway when do you want me to come back?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Tristan told me that she is looking for another job" her confused response came.

"How does Tristan know?' he asked in confusion.

"She was on a date withTristan yesterday. I was with some colleagues at the bar yesterday and I saw them there together. They seem to be cozy together and were on a date I think."

He cursed as a unexpected desire to commit serious violence against Tristan shaped in his mind.

He gritted his teeth "yes I know that she is looking for another job. She has given me her notice."

"Oh. Great. So you knew." Was it disappointment in her voice? Klaus wondered but before he could speculate any further she was saying "I cant wait to come back and work for you."

Klaus said "I have a meeting Kara" and then without waiting for a response from her, he hung up on her and punched in Hayley's number.

He barked "come in" as soon as she picked it up.

When she entered he said angrily "I never thought you would stoop this low."

"What happened?" Hayley asked in bewilderment.

"How could you miss informing me that I had a very important appointment yesterday in the evening."

"But you didn't." She replied as she hastily opened her PDA and groaned when she saw the appointment to an art gallery marked important.

"I … I am sorry Mr. Mikaelson. I must have missed it."

"Missed it or you intentionally didn't tell me?"

All the emotions building up in her for the past two days got better of her and she suddenly felt really drained and tired of his continuous fight with him. She felt like crying but she knew that she wouldnt. She mustered up her courage and said in a firm voice - as firm as she could be "I didn't do it intentionally. I am truly sorry."

A tiny movement of her shaking hand make him realize how unnerved she was at the moment and suddenly she looked very vulnerable to him- a sight he didnt really like. For the first time seeing her losing the control on her emotions made him jerk back and he said curtly "you can leave now."

Three hours later, neck deep in his work, meetings after meetings, he had finally managed to get rid of that image of her shaking hands even though he was still annoyed with her immaturity for retaliating in such a way. What if it was something much more important than the appointment for the auction? He startled when his cell rang. He picked it up absently and said "yes"

"Klaus, this is Lucien. Listen there is a problem."

"What do you mean?"

"There is no record of Eden Mikaelsons in this hospital."

"What are you talking about?"

"There is no record of Eden Mikealsons in the hospital you mentioned. Not anywhere, let alone the morgue." He repeated "what do you want me to do?"

"I…." he was confused for a moment and then snapped "find out what happened to it. They must have misplaced it" and cut him off.

 _Surely he made a mistake. How is it possible? Why does he have to deal with all of his now? It is a simple task of obtaining the death certificate._ He threw the paper weight across the room.

* * *

Hayley startled when she heard a loud bang. She dashed in the office and asked "what happened?" while her gaze fell on the phone.

"Nothing. I want you to leave me alone." Klaus said angrily.

Hayley glared back at him but then quietly retreated.

* * *

He jerked his laptop open angrily and looked at the email he was handling but he couldn't concentrate, the lines read meaningless so he decided to go out for lunch.

"I am going to lunch" he said curtly to her without looking towards her and stepped into the elevator. A few minutes later he was sitting in his favorite bistro just across the corner. With a few minutes he realized that a distraction away from the office was proving to be constructive so by the time he came back he felt fresh and he dived into his work with fresh mind. Around six in the evening his cell rang again. It was Lucien again.

"Klaus I was able to get hold of five death certificates from the night you are mentioning. My contact in the hospital was really diligent. None of them is Eden Mikaelson. There is no record of Mrs. Eden in the hospital. Are you sure she was brought in this hospital?"

"Of course I am sure. I got the call from the hospital." Klaus said incredulously. "My father went there to identify her." The memory of that phone call still brought a bile in his mouth as he recalled how he had refused to go there. And how he regretted later for not going seeng her last time.

"Hmmm" came Lucien's reply "if you are sure then what can I say. I did find something that might be interesting."

"What?" Klaus asked disinterestedly

"When I dug deeper I found that a seriously injured patient was moved to John Hopkins the night in question and as per the orderlies the whole thing was kept hush hush."

"Why is that important over here?" he asked agitatedly at that irrelevant information. And then suddenly an image of his father's safe flashed through his mind and he gasped "John Hopkins?"

Before Lucien could reply he asked, his heart racing for some reason "Who was the patient and who transferred the patient?"

"None of the information was ever diverged." He replied regretfully. "Klaus, is it possible that it was your wife?"

"If that is the case then they must have the death certificate."

He could feel an unasked question looming in the air but he ignored it. How could he explain Lucien about his ignorance about the circumstances of his wife's death. "Anyway visit John Hopkins and get the certificate. You will be properly compensated. There is no need to tell you that this is all hush hush."

"Of course."

Was it possible that she was taken to John Hopkins? He wondered in anguish. He regretted his lack of interest in finding out what happened to Eden after her death. Why didnt he ask his father? He thought regrettably.

 _John Hopkins?_ Thinking about the financial documents he had seen in his father's safe he wondered if his father was donating funds to the hospital because of Eden. He strolled towards his desk, stared at the laptop for a moment and then searched for the hospital. He spend a few minutes on the website to figure out if there was way to track down the funds donated to the hospital. After noting a few phone numbers he closed the website.

He squared his shoulders to relieve the tension building up in his shoulders and sat back in his chair but suddenly an image of a cheque flashed through his mind and he searched for a Dr. Mehta. Looking at the credentials of the forth doctor found by that name working in John Hopkins, his heart skipped a beat and he clicked it and then he further leaned forward when he realized that he was a 'trauma plastic surgeon'. Plastic surgeon?

Images and voice started to flash through his mind.

 _Someone need to come to identify her body._

 _She reminds me of Eden._

A fading scar along the hairline under the brunette hair.

Number of times he felt like he was talking to Eden when he was on phone with Hayley.

The kiss he had shared with her.

Everything was jumbled up in his mind and Gardenias were smelling very strongly.

Could it be? Could she have survived? Could she have done that? After all he himself didnt identify her body. He assumed that the accident was bad since she needed identification… Could it be… Could she have gotten plastic surgery? Her love for Hope. Her attachment with his father. Were they both on it? Yes. He must have been. He stood up abruptly as he recalled the nature of their relationship. Despite what his father said she came into their life out of blue and was instantly attached to his father. A bulb switched on in his head. That is why he left her the guesthouse and one million dollar in his will. The question he had been asking himself since the will was read was finally answered. His father would only leave all that to Hayley Marshall if he knew that she was in fact Eden Mikaelson. His heart was beating out of his chest. But why? Why wouldn't he tell him or she approach him?

 _'If I ever see you again anywhere near Hope, you will regret it Eden.'_ His own voice echoed in his mind and his heart jumped into his throat.

That is it! That is why she or his father didnt tell him that she was alive. What about James? He asked himself. Are you kidding yourself? He laughed at his own question. Why would Eden go to her father who sold her out to a stranger?

What about Hannah? _For Hope._ _She must have done it for Hope_. He told himself. Euphoria was building up in him, his heart was thudding against his chest so hard that it was getting difficult to even breath. He started pacing in the room thinking, coming up with answers to discredit his theory or to credit it. He was not sure what what he was aiming at. He walked back to his desk and hurriedly checked for that tabloid pictures Caroline had showed him of her and him. He stared at the picture, trying to find his wife and since he was looking for Eden in Hayley he found it. But her eyes? He gazed at them in confusion and then he answered himself. _Contacts._ The moment it hit him, he got all his answers, he could actually see her hazel brown eyes concealed by the contacts. He gasped and fell back on his chair. She was alive. She was alive and she had been right in front of his eyes and he had not recognized her. She was sitting outside his door working as his personal assistant. And then without warning the euphoria that had build up in him crashed as he recalled how much she hated him now. And his heart sank. No doubt she hated him. The way he had kicked her out of his life. Lets deal with one thing at a time, he told his panicking heart as he realized that he had lost her. He picked up the phone again and dialed Lucien's number and said "Lucien forget about the death certificate for now. I have another task for you."

"What?"

"I need everything you can find about Hayley Marshall. Everything from where she was born to her social security number. This is your highest priority. Forget about the other thing as of now." He realized his voice was shaking with repressed anticipation.

"Alright. It may take me a couple of days."

"No problem. Just do it as quickly as you can."

As soon as he put his cell down suddenly he recalled Kara's call and he groaned. _Tristan!_ So Eden is moving on from him? He wondered in desperation. He laughed desperately. Was the evidence from last two years not enough to prove how much she hates you and wants to move on from you. He stood up abruptly unnerved by the intensity of feeling that she might be moving on from him. What is wrong with you? You are not even sure that she is Eden and you are working yourself up for nothing. Lets wait till it is confirmed. No, she cannot move on from him. She is still his wife. If she is cheating on him or has done it in the past, so help both of them. He cursed furiously. She is not Eden. The voice again reasoned. He knew he was being irrational but he couldnt help it. The tiniest of hope that Hayley might be Eden was too much for him and he didnt want it to be wrong. He wanted it to be true. No he _needed_ it to be true. He shook his head in frustration willing the phone to ring and Lucien to tell him that Hayley Marshall was in fact his late wife… Not late… His estranged wife. But he knew he had to wait for a couple of days to get the information he needed.

He started pacing in the huge office feeling agitated.

* * *

In the meantime Hayley parked her car outside a small house at the address Tristan has given wondering if she had made the right decision in leaving the office early. But he was acting like a jerk so why should she have stayed with him? It was high time that for him to learn that she wouldnt be bending to his demands anymore. He didnt need her so why should she have stayed there. It was not like he was in a meeting or something. Why should she just have sat there wasting her time. She told herself and then she took deep breaths to calm herself down before ringing the bell. A few minutes later a young pretty woman with brown hair opened the door.

She smiled at her and said "you must be Hayley Marshall. Tristan called in the morning and told me about you. I am so glad that you could make it today. Please come in. My girls are super excited about these dance lessons."

An hour later Hayley left their house with a big smile on her face glad that she had some work to do to occupy her time. Eventually she will land a better job.

* * *

One hour turned into two and he was still unable to concentrate on his work. A few times he thought about marching out of his office and confront Hayley Marshall but he controlled his urge. A few times he picked up his intercom to call her but squashed that desire too. Frustratingly he got up and strolled towards the window looking outside where dark was now prevailing and the lights were starting to light up the sky. He startled when the door opened and he heard a shaky voice "Oh Mr Mikaelson, I am so sorry. I thought you had left."

He looked around and saw a young girl dressed in custodial uniform with the cleaning equipment behind her. She looked flustered. He stared at her as if seeing through her. And then she said timidly "I can come again."

"No!" He didnt mean to bark but it came out like that. He swirled his seat around and stared at his laptop again which had gone in hibernation mode. He clicked some buttons to wake it up, gazed at the contents that he had been reading and then shut the laptop off with a bang feeling unsatisfied with the work he had done in the past one hour. The gasp from the direction made him realize that he had somehow scared that young woman. Feeling agitated, he got up, picked up his coat and laptop and headed towards the elevator. "I am leaving."

As he reached the office door he noticed her seat was empty. _Was she on another date?_ He wondered. Something pierced his heart, something very akin to possessiveness and jealousy and betrayal. Was she cheating on him? Anger was starting to dominate his feelings and he knew what he had to do. She was really angry at him and she was nowhere near ready to forgive him. He had to earn that forgiveness. Even though Lucien had not yet come up with a proof that Hayley Marshall was in fact Eden Mikaelsson, he knew deep in his heart that he was right. There was no other logical explanation for the intensity of his feelings towards his PA, the same intensity that he had once started to feel for Eden. While driving towards the home, he knew that the first thing he has to do was to get rid of Tristan and make sure that Eden was not going to go after another man. Even thinking about her with another man made him clutch the steering wheel tightly.

* * *

She was about to take off her contacts when the bell rang. She frowned wondering who it could be, put on her robes and walked towards the entrance. As she opened the door her frown deepened. She hissed "what are you doing here?"

"First of all never ever do that again. As long as your are working for me you will stay at the office until I stay. Secondly don't ever go out with a co-worker. I don't want to see you socializing with the staff."

Hayley looked at him incredulously, fisted her hand against the side of her thighs to stop pounding him with it. How dare he?

"I dare because I am your boss and I don't want to see you _flirting_ with my staff" hearing him say that made her realize that she had spoken those words out loud.

She gritted " _who do you think you are to command me like that?_!" before she could stop herself she was shouting at him. "Get the hell out of my house." She tried to throw the door at his face but he had stopped it with his foot. She jerked the door annoyingly as she resorted "since I will not be working for.…"

"You are still my assistant" he said calmly interrupting her.

"Unfortunately for the next week." Hayley said through gritted teeth.

"Until then then. You still have to work with me until Kara can come back."

Hearing her name caused her to see stars of anger. She opened her mouth to say something but he said "I know you are still upset with me about what happened yesterday. I thought you accepted my apology and you took the revenge by making me miss my important appointment but apparently it was not enough. Listen I am really sorry about that."

Hearing him apologizing so earnestly raised suspicion in her mind but she ignored it and continued "And you think that will make up for it. You are so arrogant in thinking that."

"Well when someone apologizes the other should forgive him."

"Why? Is it some kind of rule? I have had enough of you in my life. Get the hell out of my life" she said angrily and tried to shut the door again but he had his foot against it and able to stop it. His eyes were glittering with something. They were not full of anger and resentment like they had been during the past few months. Right now they were very much akin to how he looked at her when he had taken her agains the wall or against a table or in the shower. The memory made her shiver and she wondered if he knew about her but then she shook her head telling herself that it was not possible. And _why_ the hell was he looking towards her like that? She wondered. But then again why did he kiss her? She asked herself nervously. Remembering that kiss made her shiver. Heat started to pool at her core and she instinctively clenched her thighs together. _Damn it. Even now! He is turning your life upside down and your body is deceiving you. Have some courage and stand up for your rights._ She snubbed herself and feeling frustrated at the weakness her body was showing she tried to close the door again which he stopped his time by placing a hand on the door.

"Get the hell out of my house." She commanded again

"I should never have said that thing about replacing your daughter with mine."

"My daughter does not need rep ….." she stopped as she realized what she was about to reveal to him. Instead she said "my daughter is not the issue here. It is your daughter that you are making a a issue of. You are putting your personal feelings for me and stopping me from seeing you daughter. She is just a child. _Dont smile at me like that._ " She stomped angrily. All her anger for the past two years was bubbling out of her. She wanted to wring his neck.

"You think I don't know what is going on here. You kissed me and now you are annoyed with yourself but you are too arrogant to face your weakness. You are masking it by taking your anger at me. You ran to your girlfriend after kissing me. Why don't you go back to that bimbo and get yourself a treat. If you are expecting me to do so then you are at the wrong place."

The more angry she was getting, for some reason the more amused he was looking which was rubbing her in a wrong way. With each angry word of hers he was looking more and more comfortable and that knowing smile was spreading on his lips which was infuriating her.

"wipe that arrogant face off your face." She continued angrily and to wipe that smile of face she went for the kill shot ignoring all warning bells ringing in her head "How does it feel to be defeated Ms. Mikaelson. How does it feel to lose yourself to someone you never wanted to fall for? How do you sleep at night knowing that you kissed the girl your father was involved with?"

As soon as the words were out she knew she had crossed the line but she was beyond caring now. She just wanted him gone.

The more she was getting angry at him, the more she was talking … no shouting at him, expressing herself breaching the shield that she had put around her, the more she was showing her vulnerabilities, her resentment, her fear and the more he was getting surer and sure that he was talking to his late … no….just _seriously_ estranged wife. _Estranged?_ He wondered. _What bimbo? And was that jealousy he just detected in her voice when she was talking about some bimbo?_ He smiled at the tiny flicker of hope rising in his heart. And at that moment another thing became sure to him. This new person standing in front of her with her hand on her delicate hip spitting fire from her mouth was not the person he had married. She was not the old self. Something has changed in her but he was sure that he was talking to wife. He didnt need Lucien to confirm his suspicions. This new Eden was full of passion that she once only revealed to him when they shared their bed. It was no longer confined to the sanctity of their marital bed and he was loving it. He wanted to jump out of excitement. At that moment he forgot that she was a gold digger who married him for the money or that she was so cold towards Hope for a while or that she was with another man when she 'died'. All that mattered was that she was here. Alive and healthy albeit hating him. She had been right before his eyes since the past year. She hadnt abandon her daughter even though she had abandon _him_. He felt a familiar pang of rejection but then he shook his head. She loved Hope which he was sure of and that was enough for him. Right now that was enough for him. Right now he just wanted to touch her, feel her, make sure that she was in fact standing there and not the figment of his imagination. He wanted to taste her lips and feel that familiar feeling. Keeping that smile controlled he said calmly "you are goading me Hayley. I am one step away from reacting and you don't want me retaliating."

"And why is that?" Hayley knew that she was goading him but his arrogance and that smile was pushing her to ignoring that warning bell.

"You see, I know your secret." He leaned forward, smile still on his lips, twinkle in his eyes.

Hayley's heart sank. _He knows it._ She realized. He knows it. She started to get panic and immediately stepped back from him.

"What secret? I dont have any secrets."

Klaus smiled as he noticed her stepping back and if there were any doubts they just got cleared. She looked scared for a moment.

He stepped towards her and before she could stop him his hand was behind her back and he was pushing her towards hm and his lips were touching hers.

Hayley wanted to push him away and she pushed him, she pushed him with all her force, at least that is what she thought but his words brought her back to earth when he broke the kiss and smiled against her lips " _this_ is your secret. You cannot keep your hands off of me, just like I cannot." and she realized with shock that she was returning his kiss. Her cheeks burned and she tried to step back but he pulled her back to his body and his lips were taking her lips again possessively, this time. He had no intention of stopping this time disregarding any memory that haunted him but to his relief it never came and his kiss deepened. Finally he broke the kiss and she breathed "how dare you kiss me?"

He tusked shaking his head "I really dont like you."

She blanched and he continued "I dont like you because I don't like to feel this way towards you but I cannot help it. You are trying to get under my skin. You are destroying my control and I don't like it. I have not felt like that since my wife."

"your wife? The wife you hated?"

He shook his head slowly as his hands slipped away from her back and fell to his sides and muttered looking straight into those green contacts that she was wearing wishing he could see her lovely hazel brown eyes "not hate" trying really really hard not to think about the extent of the damage in the accident that required plastic surgery.

 _"You are lying!"_ She stammered as she stepped back.

"We are not discussing my wife here. We are discussing my feelings for you or should I say _your_ feelings towards me" he said with a frown.

"I don't have any feeling for you."

"Are you sure?" Klaus smiled this time, the frown disappearing.

"Of course." she snapped wanting to cry for his lies.

His gaze went down and she followed it and gasped when she saw her fingers clutching the front of his shirt. She let go of his shirt as if she was struck and stepped back. The smile on his lips was like petrol on fuel.

"Are you sure you dont want me in _Ms. Marshall_?" He asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

Hayley said curtly "Good night Mr. Mikaelson" and started to shut the door. And this time to her slight disappointment he didnt try to stop the door. In fact he said with the same smile plastered on his face "I will see you tomorrow Ms. Marshall. Sharp at nine in the morning" And then he left and Hayley closed the door, let out a sob and slid on the floor cursing herself for being so weak as her hands grabbed her head.

* * *

 ** _A/N: So here it is, a really really long chapter. The next chapter will probably take a few days since I have not even started writing it and probably it will not be that long. Anyway thoughts about this chapter? I know there was very less Klayley moments or even Hayley moments but as you can see that the story is moving towards more promising Klayley moments._**

 ** _I hope you liked this chapter. It was huge in terms of content and the length. I didnt want to break it into two because I myself found reading all of it in one go better. Please share you thoughts?_**


	12. Fishing - part 1

_**A/N: thanks for the wonderful reviews. td continue reading :). hope, Ansel's relationship with Hayley's mother will be revealed later but no, they are not brothers and sisters :). guest who wanted to know what Hayley looked like as Eden. I am sorry I dont have a celebrity in my mind, just a vague image in my mind. lol sorry cannot help you there.**_

 _ **Synopsis: Klaus tries to get to the bottom of mystery of Hayley Marshall. A slight hitch in the project Utopia leads to a discovery.**_

* * *

With his heart racing, his mind confused, his body restless, he had his hand on the doorknob of the door leading to his room but then he turned towards Hope's room. Quietly he entered in the semi-dark room and walked to her toddler bed and sat down at the edge staring down at his sleeping daughter feeling elated that his wife, his daughter's mother was alive. Hope will have her mother back in her life. And then in a flash a horrible thought occurred to him. _What if he was wrong? What if she was not Eden?_

His heart arrested for a moment but he shook his head telling himself "No. He felt her. He felt her when she was in his arms just a few moments ago. That _has_ to be Eden. He _needed_ it to be Eden for his and Hope's sake."

 _But what if she starts to ignore Hope again? What if she want to have another child, this time a son, to get that inheritance her father had promised her?_ He got up and starting pacing. _No. If that were the case, she would already have disclosed her identity._ _On that point_ , he wondered _will she ever disclose her identity?_

The discouraging thoughts racing through his mind were confusing him further so he once again shook his head forbidding himself from thinking along those lines. All those ifs. Right now his aim should be to win her heart again, apologize to her. Explain to her why he felt that way. Explain to her that if he didnt have those complicated feelings for her, he wouldnt have felt that way. He would have been indifferent towards her. Yes that is what he needed to do. He bend over Hope and wondered if he really would have been indifferent if he had no feelings for her but he already knew his answer so he agitatedly fixed Hope's blanket, kissed on her forehead and left the room more confused and restless than he was before entering her room.

While lying down on his bed, he remained restless as doubt about her identity once again started to settle in his heart despite the repeated reassurance he gave himself after he peeked at the events of the past one year especially her interactions with Ansel. And then he jerked up in a sitting position as he recalled the absence of her birthmark on her shoulder, something that he had clearly seen on that charity dinner. He got out of bed and started pacing, a heavy weight settling down in the pit of his stomach. Her scared reaction and pale complexion when Emerson was interacting with her, flashed through his mind and it made him stop in his track. " _Why would someone who had not met Emerson ever before be scared of him?"_ Moving his fingers on his lips he wondered in confusion "but then the birthmark?" And then he laughed with relief as he realized that she must have got it removed, after all she was being treated by a plastic surgeon. So what does that mean? Did she plan that from the beginning- disappearing from his life or she made used of the opportunity and escaped her prison which her father had incarcerated her in.

He raked his fingers through his hair and went back to sit on the bed thinking about his plan of action. And within next few minutes he knew that the first thing he needed figure out her motivation behind all of his deception, well it was a deception of a kind, he told himself. He needed to figure out where does Hope and he fit in all of this? Surely she cannot be thinking of taking Hope from him. Even thinking about that made his heart stop beating. He would never be parted from Hope. _But if she just wanted Hope then she would have made her identity known by now_. He tried to calm his panicking thoughts. _Maybe she is scared of you._ A voice suggested. _The ring!_ Her wedding ring flashed through his mind and his heart contracted as it hit him that she had actually returned the ring. Why would she do? _"I am not trying to steal your daughter Mr. Mikaelson"_ her assurance rang in his mind. Tiredly he fell on his bed, put an arm on his eyes and decided determinedly that despite whatever her incentive for her deception is, he will win her over. She is his wife, mother of his child and she _will_ be back in his bed soon and this time she will stay in his bed.

 ** _Flashback Klaus_**

 ** _25th October, 2013_**

 _"Very appropriately dressed. It screams a happy honeymoon." He taunted gazing at her black tweed skirt with matching jacket, the pristine white shirt peeking though the lapels of the jacket and sheer black stockings. The look finished by the black stilettos. Her wavy brunette hair knotted in the bun as usual. His hands itched to let them loose but he was really angry with her right now so he just fisted his fists._

 _"Thank you. I knew you would approve." She said calmly unconcerned by his tone._

 _Anger flashed through him. Despite spending a week in the most romantic place on the planet, he hated and despised her for putting him in this situation. His lips pursed but before he could say anything she was already reaching for the door and was out of the car. He got out and followed her saying "Eden" but again before he could continue, a voice stopped him. "Niklaus. Eden. You are home early. I thought you guys were gone for two weeks."_

 _Klaus cursed and then turned to his shocked father "Father, Anderson called about that hotel deal so we had to … um.. unfortunately cut the honeymoon short." Klaus said resentfully. "Now I am tired. I want to rest for a couple of hours and then have to go to office again." He looked towards Eden who was now smiling for Ansel and said "come. I want to show you the room."_

 _Ignoring him, she walked towards Ansel, kissed his cheek and said "I will be back in a few minutes. Let me freshen up. It was a long flight."_

 _"Dont worry. Go rest. We can talk later." Ansel replied with a smile._

 _With hurried steps, not even bothering to see if she was following him or not, he headed towards his room, anger filling his heart at the very friendly exchange he had just encountered between her and his father, wondering why his father liked this bloody gold-digger as he pushed open the door to his room and stood aside to let her in. Giving her just a second to absorb her surroundings he said curtly "come" and headed towards dressing room. He opened the door opposite the door leading to the bathroom and entered another spacious room._

 _When he turned towards her, her expressions were still unreadable like they had been during the past week. Controlling the fury at being dismissed so easily by someone who was the cause of this upheaval in his life he said coldly "even though we have a prenuptial and a business contract, let me lay down the rules to our marriage Eden."_

 _His words finally got her attention and she turned towards him, her shoulders stiff but her expressions still unreadable, the smile that had appeared so naturally on her face when she had met his father was nowhere now and her lips were sealed._

 _"While we are married you are not to meet your sister." Hearing a gasp from her mouth gave him some satisfaction and brought on a smile on his face. He continued, looking at the incredulous expressions on her face "yes your father told me all about Hannah and that that you are not to be trusted with her. He told me that while you were under his strict control you couldnt contaminate … yes that is the word he used." He explained getting some twisted satisfaction as her jaw dropped just for a second "but he suspects that you might try now. Dont even think about crossing me Eden or even showing any sort of retaliation. Dont think I am not capable of taking out a page out of your father's book of discipline. Any sign of drug abuse or sexual indulgence, our deal is off which will leave you with what?" He paused for a moment to let her absorb what he had said and then added cynically "Short of five millions?"_

 _"Dont worry. I will never dream of crossing you. I have too much to lose here."_

 _He absorbed his disgust at her. Gold-digger!_

 _He lashed out "of course! Anything for money. Right?"_

 _But she just looked at him defiantly not bothering to comment or defend herself. He scoffed and continued "Anyways since I am tied to you because of this blackmail by Emerson, I want you to provide him with what he wants as soon as you can so that we can get out of this joke of a marriage. With any luck you should already be pregnant with the amount of sex we had during the last few days but if not then I look forward to making that happen. If there is anything last few days have taught me, it is that we are very compatible in bed. Now that" he paused for a moment to take in her expressions before continuing "was something that I was expecting and lucky for me you delivered." Seeing her blushing but her eyes looking defiantly into his eyes he smirked and continued "this will be your room during the course of our marriage."_

 _Another reaction! Good. He thought with satisfaction when he noticed a tiny lift of her eyebrows but she was back in control before he could enjoy the reaction. He said with a cynical smile "I hope you were not expecting that we will share a room. Rooms are shared with wives whereas you are…."_

 _"Just a whore that you were pimped."_

 _Hearing those crude words from her mouth swiped the smile from his face and the hackles rose. He said clenching his teeth "I will send Maria. She will settle you in your room. I have to work" And without waiting for a response, he turned and left._

 ** _end flashback._**

He closed his eyes as her face swam before his eyes and for the first time he acknowledged the hurt he must have caused her by those crass words of his. Why didnt he bother to cater for her feelings during the course of their marriage? Why did he continue to hurt her and why did she tolerated him? When did he become so heartless? He thought in anguish as he tossed and turned in his bed.

 _When your family abandoned you, deprived you of the love that was your right._ His tortured self reminded him.

 _Well what is done is done. This time things will be different. He will win her over. They will be a family- a proper family, a family he had been craving for since he had lost her two years ago._ Thinking about how to make it possible he drifted off to sleep.

While Klaus was lost in his past, regretting his harshness towards Eden, Hayley was steaming. _The nerve of that man, for accusing her of taking revenge from him, stopping her from dating a colleague and then kissing her like that and then lying about his feelings for his wife!_ She was fuming as she took out her lenses, splashed water on her face and wore her night pajamas and dragged herself towards her bed. The moment she fell on the bed, all the anger drained from her and she curled up in fetal position and started crying, cursing herself for letting him touch her like that, reaching at a place which she had locked up for two years, a place where she had only let one person in all her life. _Why? Why did he lie to her? He did hate her._ She said to herself determinedly as she recalled all those times when she had seen that fury and contempt on her face and the last day when he had kicked her out. She sobbed as she brushed the tears away with the back of her hand. _Why did he lie to her then?_

 _Why was he torturing her? When he was not interested in her in their marriage, why was he doing this to her now?_

 _He doesn't know who you are._ The voice in her head reminded her. _If he knew he would never be interested in you._ The thought made her even more depressed and buried her face in her arms as the tears started to flow faster. After crying for a while when she started to get tired, she wiped her face with her hand, with dried eyes she told herself that she should stop his advances if she wants to keep her identity secret. And then she sat up and wondered if by indulging Klaus in this affair with her, as his girlfriend she could get closer to Hope. But how? How can she go through that after what he did to her. She asked herself desperately. Remembering that night still froze her heart towards him. Remembering how he had ruthlessly declined her begging to see Hope one last time made her depressed and angry all over again. Good this is good. Just keep this feeling alive. After what he did to her she cannot let him be in her heart again but she can pretend. She can endure his presence, his fake claims. She will do anything for Hope. But she will never ever let him in her heart again. She vowed as she fell back on the bed, fixed her comforter and started counting backwards from hundred as she closed her eyes.

When she woke up next morning, she wanted her last day to already be here. Thinking of that last thought before she had fallen asleep she shivered. Does she have courage to go through with it. After some thoughts she decided that she will encourage his advances if he follows through it but she will never make it easy for him. Feeling satisfied and light for some reason, she got out of the bed and went to the bathroom. After a long and hot shower, she dressed in her typical grey pencil skirt with white shirt constantly telling herself not to fall an easy prey to his seduction technique, the techniques that she knew from her experience to be leathal. Her hand shook slightly as she put on her lens and the memories came back again to haunt her.

 ** _Flashback Hayley_**

 ** _5th November, 2013_**

 _"I like this color" his husky voice whispers against her ear as he pushed her against the wall, his free hand playing with the strap of one off shoulder green dress "it brings out the color of your eyes."_

 _Her heart raced. She wanted him so badly. What was happening to her? She was losing herself to him. What happened to her self-respect. He touched her and she melted in his arms. How could she let him make her so weak. His one touch makes her wild. She shouldn't let him see how he affects her but what should she do. She loves his touches and his praise but is it real? She wondered and moaned as his lips moved along her neck and his teeth grazed the skin. The strap undid and the dress fell down from her breast exposing them to his eyes. A shiver ran though her body as the dress slipped down and got caught in her breast. She moaned as he moved his body and her breast grazed against his shirt and her nipples hardened. She wanted him to touch her there but his hand was slipping down her back, down her spine, resting for a fraction of a second at the small of her back, his fingers circling the slight dip in the small of her back and she arched into him. He chuckled and slipped his hand down further and cupping the cheek. She moaned again as his teeth nipped her skin and his hand squeezed the flesh of her rare. She muttered hoarsely "you dont have to do the foreplay Niklaus…."_

 _But before she could finish he jerked back while pushing her body against the wall so hard that her head banged against it causing her to wince but he hissed ignoring her wince "why? Why do you feel the need to goad me?" and with a jerk stepped back and started towards the door connecting their two rooms but stopped and turned back towards her and said "you know you are not doing yourself a favor by goading me. The longer it takes for you to get pregnant the longer it will be for you to get your pay off."_

 _And then he left the room and Eden stared at the closed door feeling vulnerable and depressed. His insult making him feel like a whore that her father kept reminding her of. The reality had come crushing down, destroying everything beautiful between them. She gulped, told herself not to cry as she pulled the dress up, covering her breasts and walked towards the dressing room._

 ** _End flashback_**

She jerked back to present, put the lens in her eyes, fixed her makeup and hurriedly put her stockings on, unconsciously pressing at her back which had been giving her trouble for the lack of therapy exercises and for sitting straight for so long in the office. She dashed to the kitchen, poured herself her regular cup of coffee and left the house.

After reaching the office, she settled her things down and went in his office, set his table, fixed the blinds, checked if everything was in order and then came out. She sat on her chair and switched on her computer to see the agenda for the day and then she started taking down notes on her personal notepad. _Old is Gold._ Ansel's advice. She smiled as she thought about him. He had braced new technology but he was still old school. The phone ring startled her. Checking the time she realized it was still early but she picked it up and said "Mr. Mikaelson's office."

"Hayley?"

Hearing a female voice calling out her first name confused her but then the source of confusion was cleared when she said "this is Camille O'Connell. How are you?"

An image of her and Klaus locked together in an intimate hug. She sucked in her breath but said "I am good" and didnt feel like continuing. "What can I do for you?"

"I have to meet Klaus today. it is urgent."

"What is it regarding?" She asked boringly.

"I am not sure if I should tell you."

"He needs to be prepared in advance for the meeting and _I need_ to determine the urgency of the meeting to schedule it." She added with a smirk. "Do you want me to schedule it?"

"Alright. Bob, the architect to Utopia was involved in a accident on Monday so I need him to meet the replacement."

She scanned his calendar and said "I can set up a meeting with him at eleven right now but will confirm it when he comes to the office. His schedule is free but he might have something personal going on."

"Wonderful. Thanks. I will see you then then."

"Sure. Good day." After putting the cell down, she updated his calendar on the computer and copied the data on her black diary. Suddenly she looked up and after thinking for a moment she switched the screen to the day before and compared the appointments mentioned on the computer with the ones she had already written in her small black diary. A frown appeared on her forehead when she noticed a discrepancy and then she realized that she must have messed up while cancelling his appointments yesterday.

"Hey Hayley." A male voice startled her.

"Tristan. What are you doing here? Never mind that. I wanted to thank you for the job you told me about. I am sorry I didnt call yesterday but something happened…." the kiss flashed through her mind and her cheeks started to burn but she was not sure if it was because of anger or because of her recalling how she had clung to him.

"Aurora and the girls loved you and they cannot wait to start the classes." He said with a smile.

"Me too." Hayley replied with a smile.

When Klaus stepped out of the elevator the first thing he saw was Hayley smiling down at some man. He walked towards her and their eyes met and the smile slipped off of her face which probably her visitor noticed too because a second later he turned towards him. Seeing Tristan standing before him, he gritted his teeth but keeping his face expressionless he continued to walk towards them.

"Good morning Mr. Mikaelson." Tristan responded.

"Tristan. Liking your relocation?"

Tristan smiled brightly and said "Yes although I miss Mr. Stantson but what can one do…"

Klaus nodded and said "If you will excuse me I have a couple of things to take care of. Hayley bring my coffee in. We need to get started on our work" and without waiting for response he went inside his office.

"I didnt realize that you were on first name basis with Mr. Mikaelson. I thought … "

"he hated me?" she gritted her teeth.

"Well. Yes. It is not exactly a secret."

"Yes I know. Look Tristan I will see you lat….." before she could fishing her sentence her name was called out on the intercom. She said "later….bye."

Klaus looked up when she entered the room and said causally "have you seen your visitor off?"

She said with annoyance "It is Ms. Marshall to you."

He leaned back, regarded her carefully, her face expressionless, her hands folded in front of her with the notepad clutched in her hands. Her eyes spitting fire.

He said calmly "I thought after last night Ms. Marshall will sound too formal."

She said dismissively "Nothing happened last night. It was just a kiss."

"Just a kiss?" He leaned forward as he searched her face, his arms folded, resting on the shiny surface of his desk. He wondered in amazement at his lack of power of observation and deduction. He had always prided himself of those two qualities but he was just realizing that they had failed him. Yes there were minor changes in her face contributing to change in her overall look but her voice was the same especially on the phone as he recalled the number of times he had gotten confused. The evidence was staring right at him and he had managed to ignore it just because before yesterday he didnt even suspect that his wife could be alive let alone be back in his life. Shaking his head, he asked "let me get this straight. We have now shared two kisses … no three and you still want me to call you errr…. _Ms. Marshall_?" stressing on Ms. Marshall.

"yes!" she said defiantly.

"Hmm.. Okay. Actually it is better if we continue to address each other formally. It will be helpful in keeping our relationship discreet as of now."

"We dont have a _relationship._ " She spat.

"Oh but we do." He said calmly.

When she remained quiet he asked "arnt you going to ask me about it?"

"No" she said as she sat down and then looking at her personal notepad she said "Ms. O'Connell called in the morning and wanted to meet you. Bob was involved in an accident so she wants you to meet his replacement. I have set an appointment with her at eleven today since it seemed important." Furiously she wondered why she need to give an explanation on setting an appointment on such a short notice.

Klaus groaned at this unexpected turn of events but he was unable to look away from her expressionless face and then he nodded realizing that he has to meet Camille. They had to deal with this as soon as possible.

She too nodded, her shoulders relaxing a bit and continued to detail him about his rest of meetings. When she was done, she got up and started to leave when he said " _Ms. Marshall,_ the meetings that I had gotten cancelled yesterday, arrange them again."

She said "alright, time spam?"

"as soon as possible."

She looked at his bent head for a moment, the knot in her stomach tightening, her heart desiring him to look up towards her but he didnt and she left the room.

Klaus looked up and seeing her retreating from the room wondered in frustration at how to break into the armor she had build around her.

He shook his head and opened his laptop to prepare for the meeting with Camille. This new hitch in the project was going to cause the unforeseen delay but what could he do. He had to handle this but what about Camille, he wondered. They had shared a kiss that had not ended well. She knew his secret. It didnt surprise him that he didnt remember that kiss considering what he had discovered during the past two days on top of any lack of reaction from that kiss but he couldnt ignore the issue that could rise from that kiss. He knew she had feelings for him and by indulging in that kiss he had encouraged her. Now that he knows that Eden is alive… he stop thinking along that line of thought and looked towards the door wondering once again. _She has to be Eden._ He tried to convince himself, telling himself that there was no other explanation for having same sort of feelings for Hayley that he once had for Eden. Despite the doubt in his mind, he was sure of one thing and that was that he will never let Hayley Marshall go. She had woken that feeling in him again, the feeling that he had developed for Eden and lost it when he lost her. He looked towards his cellphone willing it to ring and Lucien to confirm that Hayley Marshall was in fact Eden Mikaelsson but he knew that if Lucine had some information he would have already have called by now. He thought about his confusion as he stared at the document not really absorbing what was written on it. When his phone rang he picked it up with a sigh."Yes."

"Ben is on line for you" and the call was transferred.

"Klaus, I have been calling you on your cell but the line was busy." Klaus's gaze went to his cell and he noticed some missed calls. He groaned. _What was happening to him?_ He wondered. _He needed to pay attention to his work._

"Did you want to talk to me about something Ben?"

"That death certificate. I have obtained it."

"So quickly?"

"you have not retained me for no reason" pride was dripping from his voice.

"Alright good. Did Emerson cause any issue?"

"No. He doesnt know. About Eden's death certificate…" Ben started but Klaus cut him off by saying "I am working on that."

"Oh" a surprised response came from Ben. "Okay whenever you want me to contact the bank to get to that safe, just tell me."

"Sure. I will talk to you later." He had taken the phone away from his ear when he suddenly started "Wait Ben."

"What?"

"Do you know why my father was the trustee for Eden and her mother joined deposit box instead of her father?"

"No but I can find it out."

"Hmmm. Do that but without Emerson's knowledge." Klaus said and disconnected.

He put the phone down with a twinge in his heart. _Eden's death certificate. What if it exist in John Hopkins. What if Hayley is not Eden? What if Eden is really dead? No. Not now. He thought in anguish. Oh how he was wishing that he could find any proof that she was alive._ He got up and started pacing agitatedly and then it hit him. _The safe! Maybe she tried to access it after the accident, if she knew that it existed. But if she did then the manager would have pointed out._ To satisfy his need to find out if she knew about the safe he started to press the button on the intercom to ask Hayley to connect him to the manager of Chase bank but then he stopped and picked up his cellphone.

After getting the phone number from the internet, he dialed it. As soon as he was connected to the manager, he said "Hello Mr. Glass. This is Niklaus Mikaelson. We talked about a safety deposit box yesterday."

There was a pause before said "of course Mr. Mikaelson. What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to ask you if you could tell me when was the last time my wife operated the safety deposit box. Umm actually it is a delicate matter. I am missing a family heirloom and it just occurred to me if my wife put that in the safety deposit box before she died."

"Oh okay. Let me check."

Klaus waited while the line was silent for a few seconds, tapping his pen on the table, hoping that Eden Mikaelson accessed that box during this last year.

"Hello Mr. Mikaelson are you still on line."

"Of course."

"It says that your wife last operated the account in July, 2014." The bank manager replied.

His heart sank and he sat back in his chair. So she knew about the safe deposit box and she had kept it hidden from him. More importantly, she didnt get in touch with it after her death. If Eden is alive then why didnt Ansel or she accessed the safe? He didnt know about the safe so there was never a chance of him ever discovering that she was still alive. He thought in confusion. Realizing that the manager was still online he said "thanks" and disconnected.

"Why so secrecy? What was in that box after all? Why didnt she tell him?" He startled when her voice came from the intercom saying "Ms. O'Connell is here."

"Send her in." He said after pressing a button.

A moment later the door opened and Cami stepped in. Klaus stood up and said "hello Camille. Come in. Hayley told me what happened." pushing the conversation with the manager and the new thoughts out of his mind.

"Klaus, this is Steve Johnson. Bob will not be able to come back for few months so Steve will be taking over." She said with a soft smile, no signs of what had happened over the weekend making him feel more guilty. Maybe she is not that upset as he had thought, he reasoned with himself feeling relieved as he gestured them to sit. After everyone had settled down he asked "have you ever worked on a project like that Mr. Johnson."

"Call me Steve and actually yes." He opened his file and passed onto Klaus and smiled at Camille while Klaus looked at the information he had provided.

An hour later, debriefing him about his requirements and the smoothing out the hitch caused by this mishap, he got up, shook his hand and said "welcome aboard on the project Steve."

"Thank you." Looking towards Camille expectedly wanting to know what was the plan when Camille said "Steve, I have to discuss another proposal with Klaus. I will meet you outside."

After he left, Klaus said "he seems to know his stuff."

"He does." Camille said solemnly and then she pushed a file in front of him. "Daddy wanted you to have a look at this and get back to him about his proposal."

"What is it?" he asked while Camille stood up.

"Why dont you look at it and we can discuss this over dinner tonight or whenever you are free?"

"Alright." He said as his eyes scanned the title and a few lines underneath it, his eyebrows rising as it realized what it was.

"I will go now" causing him to look up.

"How is the office working for you?" Klaus asked.

"Wonderful. It fulfills our requirements. Thank you for letting us use that space." She smiled and turned towards the door when it opened and Hayley entered the room.

Hayley entered the room and a weight settled in her stomach as she watched Camille smiling at Klaus. She walked towards the desk and placed a file on it saying "Anderson send this and your new schedule is set."

When he nodded, she turned and was about to leave when Klaus said "how about tomorrow Camille? Dinner at eight?"

Plop! That must be the sound of her heart sinking. She thought. Tension shot through her shoulders and she squared them. It took all of her power not to look back at him. The nerve of the man! Yesterday he was kissing her and claiming that he felt something for her and today he is making dinner dates with Camille. She thought angrily as she exited the room.

Camille said "sure. Go through it and we can discuss it tomorrow."

She turned to leave when Klaus said "Camille about what happened…."

"Forget about it Klaus. I realize that you are not yet ready. I understand that. I will talk to you later." She smiled and left the room whereas Klaus sat on the chair wondering about what she had said. So she thinks that he will eventually get over Eden and give her a chance. Maybe he would have but not now. Things have changed. _Who are you kidding?_ _Even if you were not convinced that Hayley is Eden, you would have gone after her. You were ready to make a move on Hayley Marshall regardless of if she is Eden or not._ He smiled thinking about how her shoulders had stiffen when he had asked Camille on that dinner date. _Are you trying to make her jealous?_ His conscious pricked.

 _What other way to find out if she is Eden? Surely if she is his wife, she will not appreciate him dating._ He reasoned with the voice in his head.

 _She can if she does not love you. You erased any feelings she had for you when you kicked her out of your house and your life. You took away her child from you. Think of the mental anguish she must be going through when she got into that accident. How can you think that she will be jealous of you dating! T_ he same voice put him in his spot and his guilt and regrets intensified, his anxiety increased.

She smiled at the post delivery guy "hello Emil" as he placed the big package along the wall and then a stack of posts on her desk.

"Hello Ms. Marshall." He smiled and left.

Hayley took in the package and gathered that it must be a painting from the size and shape of of it. She then looked at the pile of mails and started sorting them out.

Once sorted, she started going through the ones not marked private and then her eyes widened as she saw a post from John Hopkins. With racing heart and shaking fingers, she opened the envelop and started reading it. A moment later she took a breath of relief when she realized that it was a letter of condolence. She folded the letter and then looked at the next one and seeing Kara's name on the envelop flipped her heart. She opened it and took out the greeting card from it. With racing heart she flipped it open and read _"Congratulations. You have been wanting it for so long. I am glad that I was able to get it for you._

 _Kara"_

She stared at the card, trying to absorb what the wordings meant and what she had bought for him, trying to gauge why was she suddenly so angry at Kara and wanted to break whatever she had gotten for him, a primitive hostility began to heat her blood. She angrily put it at the bottom of the the pile to be delivered to him.

When she was done, she drank a full glass of water to simmer down her anger, the annoyance at Kara's card. She took a deep breath to calm herself down before entering his office.

Klaus looked up when she put the post on the table. Before he could comment she said "there is a package for you too."

"Bring it in" He said, his fingers flying on the keyboard of his laptop.

Hayley left the room and was back in a moment carrying a big package covered in white paper. He knew what it was and excitement sizzled through him. "Put that over there" He said pointing towards the white leather sofa. "Anything important?" He asked pointing towards the pile of mails.

"No. The usual. Statement from banks. There is a card from Kara." He scrambled through the posts and took out the card from the bottom of the pile and started reading it.

Hayley felt as if someone had pierced her heart with something sharp and was twisting it further when she noticed the smile spreading on his lips. She had read that note. There was nothing special in it to bring that kind of smile on his lip. She thought bitterly. Stop being jealous of his relationship with Kara. She told herself furiously.

Klaus looked up and noticed a scowl on her face and the smile slipped from his face. "Anything else?"

"There is a letter of condolence from John Hopkins." She said looking down at the table, not wanting to look at him in case he read something in her eyes.

Klaus's heart raced as he took the letter from the pile and started reading it. It was just a generic condolence letter on the death of the one of the benefactors of the hospital. He looked up and caught her looking at him. "I didnt know father was donating funds to the hospital."

"He started last year." Hayley confessed. What else could she say when it was clearly mentioned in the letter. But thankfully he didnt probe further.

"Alright, if nothing else, get your notepad. We need to discuss Utopia. You have still not been brought up to date about the project."

Hayley nodded and started towards the door when his cell rang and she heard him say "I hope it is urgent. You know I dont like to be disturbed in the office."

 _"Who was he talking to now?_ She wondered as she closed the door. For some reason she was convinced that the person on the other end of the cellphone was a she.

 _What is wrong with you? Are you jealous?_

 _Dont be ridiculous._ She shut the voice up as she walked back into his office.

Klaus said "No. I am not promising. I have an engagement this Saturday."

He looked towards Hayley as she stood there awkwardly. He motioned her to sit down as he rolled his eyes saying "no. I dont need a date. But thank you for thinking about it. Now I have to go. Sunday, maybe but not promising anything."

And then without waiting for any response, he put the cell down.

He wheeled his chair around to take out some documents from the cabinet behind him. When he turned back towards Hayley and looked up, he caught her lost in thoughts, her expressions lost and forlorn. His heart contracted for her but then he took a breath and started briefing her about the project. She was a good student and asked all the right question at the right moment and for the first time he realized that his wife, if she was in fact his wife, was not a dumbo that her father assured him of. Maybe she changed during these two years. Then again maybe she was always like that. You didnt really get to know her. His conscious guilted him. When he was done debriefing him, he felt pride when he noticed that she was impressed and when she said "this is great. I cannot wait to see how it turns out" he could stop himself from grinning and admitting "me too but right now we have a slight hitch in the project."

At the confused look on her face he explained "the meeting with Camille in the morning!" When she nodded in acknowledgment he continued "Steven Johnson will be taking over Bob. Today was my first meeting with him. He seems to know his work and Camille is full of praises for him. I have looked at his work and it is good. For what is it worth I am glad that this inconvenience happened so early in the project."

"I guess he didnt think about _your_ inconvenience before having this accident!" before she could stop herself the words were out.

She noticed his eyes narrowing and her heart started to flutter wildly, panic settling in her heart. _Damn it. She lost it again._ She looked down at the notepad trying to take control of situation.

Klaus stared at her bend head and his heart soared for a moment since the only reason for her annoyance was apparent- a _fter all she herself was in a terrible accident._ He leaned back and continue to stare at her face. "I didnt mean that" He said softly. "I shouldnt have said that." He was quiet for a moment and then continued "anyway we have to make the best of what we have."

Half an hour later, formulating the new plan of action charted out with Hayley he felt satisfied. He leaned back, enjoying seeing her expressions. She was looking down at the notes she had taken with a frown on her face. _Did she realize that she let her guard down when she was concentrating on something?_ Slowly, thinking about his plan of action, he leaned forwards and gestured her to hand over the notepad.

Hayley felt her heart jump into her throat. _Her notepad? Her writing. He will recognize it._

 _No, he wouldnt. How many times had he seen her handwriting during their marriage? A handful of times. It is very unlikely that he remembers her handwriting._ She took a deep breath and hesitantly handed him the notepad.

Klaus stared at the words on the notepad rethinking about his plan of action and then he sat up and then quickly scanned the page as he slowly sank back in his chair.

* * *

 ** _A/N: So what do you think? What caught his attention :)?_**

 ** _P.S. I hope his and her internal turmoil was satisfactory and not too overboard. I will appreciate on a feedback on that internal turmoil. It will help me in future writing._**


	13. Fishing - part 2

**_A/N: Thank you for the wonderful comments. Sorry for so late update. I had something personal going on after the long weekend._**

 ** _Synopsis: Klaus continues to draw information from Hayley. Caroline moves ahead with the marriage plans._**

* * *

 ** _Flashback Klaus_**

 _He looked up from the file he was reading and saw her standing there, her six month pregnant stomach the only indication of her carrying their child, a paper clutched in one hand, the other hand fisted by her side, her furious expressions betraying her effort of hiding those clenching teeth "What is that?" she snapped as she snapped that paper in front of him._

 _One look at the document and he knew what it was. He leaned back taking the document with him. "What seems to be the problem?"_

 _"This was not meant for you." She spat._

 _"It was on my desk."_

 _"It was for Ansel, Niklaus and you know it. Why? Why…. Why would you…" she was so angry that she was unable to finish her sentence._

 _"I dont think this anger could be good for the baby." His eyes went to protruding stomach._

 _She growled "and whose fault is it that I am this angry."_

 _"I just corrected some mistakes." He said not sure what was going on. "What exactly is going on here?"_

 _"I don't need you to spell check anything for me, especially something that is not meant to be for you." She replied in the same tone._

 _"I think you have a problem with certain words…."_

 _"Wonderful! I cannot do anything right." She threw up her hands in the air in utter frustration "For you kind information, that is how I write i and Ansel knows that. Dont you dare correct my spellings again." She continued angrily and before he could say anything she stormed out of the room._

 ** _end flashback_**

Very slowly he put a dot on the "i" in "inspection." His fingers trembled and he squashed the desire to fill in the eye of the "e" to make it look more like the intended "i". With racing heart he gave her back the notepad and said "I think this is good."

Hayley grabbed the notepad from his hand and was starting to get up when he said "Tell me about your daughter Ms Marshall."

"What?" she asked in confusion.

"You never talk about your daughter." He said softly, trying to control his racing heartbeat.

"Firstly there is nothing to tell and secondly you are my boss and I am your …." she paused for a moment feeling flustered all of a sudden at the keen expressions on Klaus's face. "I am your assistant. I dont talk about personal matters with strangers Mr. Mikaleson."

Not even a slightly bit rebuffed by her he pressed "tell me" in that dangerous low voice that made her knees wobble.

"There is nothing to tell." She repeated

"Her father?"

"Died." She said nonchalantly as she stood up and started to leave.

He felt as if someone squeezed his heart and a wave of pain so intense that it was hard to breathe went through body along with a flicker of doubt settling in his heart. His fingers curled around the armrest of his chair tightly. Liar! His whole body screamed and he wanted to hold her, shake the truth out of her but he pushed that intense desire deep down and he pressed further "what happened to her?" arresting her feet on the thick white carpet.

"If there is nothing else I need to leave" but before she could take another step he remarked "you are hiding again."

"And that is your concern how?" she swung towards him and asked angrily.

"I am just curious. I cannot even imagine my life without my daughter." His eyes narrowed at her gasp but he continued, just to draw more reaction, anything from her "you must want to talk to someone about your daughter. It would make you feel better."

"I don't believe so." Hayley said defiantly.

"Try it." He encouraged with the intention of pushing her to the brink and desire to find out what she would say about her daughter when she so blatantly lied to him, if in fact she was lying, he thought in desperation. "What happened to her?"

"Circumstances Mr. Mikaelson. Not everyone is lucky as you are." She said now looking down at her hands clutching in front of her.

"Lucky!" he laughed.

Hayley's eyes flew at him in surprise. _Why acting like that? What does he have to complain about? He had two parents who cared about him. Her daughter, she doesnt even know her own mother let alone be with her and the way things are going, she will never know of her father also._ Her bitter thoughts were interrupted by him asking "Do you not know my history?"

A fragment of pity settled in her heart as she recalled what Ansel had told her about his beloved son. But Mikael and Esther loved him. She reasoned with herself and she said "yes I know but at least you got to meet your father. And Mikael and Esther loved you. She will never know hers…"

He couldnt believe how much her words stung and he wanted to hurl at her the truth but instead he grasped onto the hope she just gave him "So she is alive?"

Hayley closed her eyes for a moment and then said with anguish after she opened them "yes she is very much alive."

Klaus almost jumped up from his seat but he contained his racing heart and just stared at her silently begging her to tell him.

When he remained quiet, obviously expecting an answer from her, she whispered looking down at her hands "I had to give her away." His heart shattered into million pieces as he recalled how he had kicked her out of house and threatened to take her to court if she tried to contact Hope ever again.

After a slight awkward silence she continued "now can I go?" her voice low and resigned for the first time.

At his curt nod she started to leave.

Seeing her retreating with that defeated body language, he wanted to punch something, something really really hard.

She was almost to the door when he said "oh wait a moment."

Hayley turned towards him and caught him checking something in his black diary. She stood there impatiently as he continued to check his diary and then he looked up and their eyes met again.

Klaus continued to look at her thoughtfully, a plan forming in his mind. He realized what he was going to do was ruthless but he was going to do it. Anything to get to know the real person behind Hayley Marshall. He said "I want you to arrange a gift for Hannah."

Her eyes widened for a moment and then started to look panicky for a moment but before he could comprehend the meaning behind that she turned to leave. He gaped at her in confusion for a second but the feeling only lasted for a second replaced by excitement. Yes! He said to himself. A smile started to spread on his lips. Suddenly she turned towards him and asked "diamonds right?" and his heart took a nosedive.

Hayley had opened the door to leave when she realized her mistake- she was _not_ supposed to know anything about Hannah and she has not bothered to even ask who Hannah was. And how could she herself forget that he was visiting Hannah over the weekend. She couldn't let him know that she knew which Hannah she was talking about. She closed her eyes for a second and turned towards him and said "diamonds right?"

That feeling of elation a moment ago turned into depression as he tried to gauge if she was playing a game. Deciding to play her game he said, his eyes not leaving her face, not wanting to miss any reaction, any tell-tale sign "no. Hannah is my … er… late wife's sister and I believe that it is her birthday tomorrow. I want you to send a gift to her."

Wondering at how he even knew about Hannah's birthday, trying hardest to keep her expressions neutral, she asked with racing heart "what do you want me to send?"

"Whatever you think is suitable." He said watching a rainbow of colors on her face. This has to be Eden. He told himself again. He wanted to walk to her and confront her outright but he had to think before taking these steps. He had to be sure. He had to wait for Lucein's report. The voice in his head cautioned him. No, He told the voice. He is sure. She was trying really hard to not reveal anything, pretending and he was too happy to play this game with her. This has to be a game, he decided, looking at the carefully concealed expressions. Hayley nodded and started to turn when he said "she is seven years old and she lives in Saint Bernard's boarding school in New York."

Hayley closed her eyes for a moment at her yet again another blunder and then said "thanks" without turning and left the room. As she closed the door behind her her legs lost all power to stand and she stumbled to her desk. She suddenly felt drained. What happened in there? She wondered. All the anger at him had drained. Hannah. When did he start to care about Hannah? No one except for her had ever cared about that little girl and now Klaus. The questions she had been asking since she had found out that Klaus had been donated to Hannah's school were answered. So he was doing it for Hannah? But why? Why now, when he didnt show any interest in Hannah during their marriage? It is too late Klaus Mikaelson. You cannot make up for the lost years now. She thought bitterly as she sat on her chair but then Hannah's face flashed through her eyes and her heart stopped beating. He is doing it for _Hannah._ How can you be so naive in your thinking? He is trying to make up for his wrongs and you in your stubbornness are not willing to give him a chance. Her cold heart was melting towards him again. _Oh God what is she going to do?_ She thought desperately. To stop herself from thinking about Klaus she opened her diary to double check the next day's schedule and to telly it with the schedule on her computer. A minute into it and she sat up in confusion, all thoughts about Klaus and Hannah evaporating from her mind as she noticed a discrepancy. Realizing that she must have forgotten to make an entry in the schedule on the computer, she started to fix it when the door opened and Anderson walked in. "Hello Ms. Marshall. I am here to meet Klaus."

"Of course. Come in" She said and led him to his office.

* * *

In the mean time Caroline dialed Rebekah's number and said "hey are you free?"

"Yes" Rebekah said. "Why?"

"I need to do shopping."

"What sort?" Rebekah asked absentmindedly.

"A wedding dress" Caroline said with a smile and then bend down to take the flower being offered by Hope. She smelled it and said "it is lovely Hope. Thanks" ignoring Rebekah scream in her ear "what? with whom?"

"I will tell you the detail when we meet. Be ready." Checking her watching she said "okay so it is two now. I will pick you up in an hour."

Rebekah said "alright."

After disconnecting with Rebekah, Caroline said "lets go have some snacks Hope and then aunt Caroline has to go shopping for her wedding dress. Will you be my flower girl?" She asked as she picked Hope up.

Hope smiled "flowers."

"yes pretty flowers. I love them. I think I will get a pink dress for you. Do you like pink?"

Hope grinned again. Caroline looked up and said to Nessa. "I have to leave in an hour. I had promised to take her to the park today but cannot go now so you take her" as she handed Hope to Nessa.

She walked back to her room while Nessa said to Hope "lets go have some snack before we leave for the park."

A few hours later Rebekah fell on the bed thinking about what Caroline had told her during her dress shopping, not sure if she liked the idea but then she shook her head, checked the time and seeing that it was seven in the evening she realized that she had spend four hours with Caroline. Thinking that Camille must be done with work by now she dialed her number. As soon as the call connected she asked "where have you been?"

"A crisis needed to be handled."

"Nik?"

"No." Camille laughed "a business thing. Anyway how are you?"

"Me? How are you?"

Camille said "good. I met him today and it was great."

"What do you mean great? You told me that…"

"Yeah I know what I told you. I am sure things will work out in future."

"Do you want to talk about what really happened?" Rebekah asked.

"Not really. Anyway we are meeting for dinner tomorrow. I am not going to pressurize him. I want him to enter this relationship willingly."

"Hmm" Rebekah said musingly.

"Anyway tell me about your day" Camille said.

"Oh nothing. Just shopping with Caroline." Rebekah said. "She is getting married to Stefan this Saturday."

"What? Who is Stefan?" Camille asked curiously.

"He is a good friend." Rebekah responded. "We had a thing once but it didnt work out."

"Oh… and you are okay with this marriage?"

"I dont know" Rebekah responded truthfully.

"Hey if you need to talk about it you know I am here for you."

"Yes I know."

"listen i have to go now. I am really tired and tomorrow is a long day. I will see you this weekend. Oh wait. You will be busy on Saturday. How about Sunday?"

"Sure. Come over in fact. Mother will love to meet her future daughter-in-law." She added mischievously.

"Jumping ahead Bekah." Camille said morosely.

Rebekah frowned at the despair in her voice "do you have any doubts?"

"No but I dont want to daydream. That is what I learned last time when my heart was broken."

"Don't worry. He will move on from Eden …soon. You are great."

"You know?" Camille asked, her tone slightly higher than her usual.

"What do you mean? You know too."

"Yes" came her reply.

" _Did he actually tell you that he loved her_?" Rebekah asked with a gasp.

"Who told you that?" Camille asked instead.

"Elijah. I am sorry." She admitted, pitying Camille.

Camille sighed but then said "yes, he told me that he loves his wife."

"OH Camille! My stupid brother!" She responded sympathetically first and then annoyingly.

Camille said "Rebekah I am really tired for this right now. We will talk about it when we meet. Good night."

Rebekah put the cell down frowning.

* * *

By the time Klaus and Hayley left for home, it was almost eight at night and she was bone tired both with physical efforts and mental torture of working with him and him drilling holes in the armor she had so carefully build around her. On the way to home, she remembers that she had to buy a gift for Hannah she directed her car towards the toy store despite her feeling emotionally and physically drained. While walking through the isles, looking something suitable for a seven year old, conflicting feelings towards her husband were causing upheaval in her heart. _Why was she feeling soft towards him all of a sudden?_ She wondered for the umpteenth time. And then she realized what it was. His care for Hannah. _But what about Hope? Why can't he show the same kind of care for his own daughter? Why was he taking out his resentment towards her on their daughter. She was innocent in all of this._ She sighed and tried to focus hundreds of things that she wanted to buy for Hope and Hannah. Wishing that she had been there in person to give her her gifts, celebrate her birthday, fulfill her demands like all mothers did for their daughter, her heart aching she picked up an elaborate painting set. After staring at it for a while she headed towards the register and then headed back to her home.

Before entering the guesthouse, she stared longingly towards the main house imagining what Hope must be doing. Damn you, Niklaus. Another day, she had missed seeing her. It was not fair that she couldn't even see Hope despite them being so close to each other.

* * *

Later that night after checking on Hope, making sure she was warm and cozy, he changed his clothes into his night pajamas and took the file Camille had given him to his bed. An hour later he was pacing his room looking at the file discarded on the bed wondering why would O'Connell propose this now. He stared at it for a while and then with a crooked smile, picked up his leather jacket and he dashed out of his room.

* * *

She was drying her hair with the towel after taking a long shower when the bell rang. She groaned. A tinkling at the nape told her who it could be so she hastily put her lens back on, put on her dressing robe, tied the ties tightly around her waist and stormed to the door with the intention of smashing his head. She pulled the door wide open but even before she could say anything he walked in and walked straight to the kitchen saying "I dont understand it Hayley."

"Ms Marshall." She gritted her teeth as she followed him in the kitchen shocked at his casual friendly attitude. _What the hell was happening? First at the office and now this!_ She wondered as she stared at him pointedly as he continued to open the empty cabinets. Feeling jittery, she walked towards one cabinet and took out a glass for him and thrust it in his hand. "Ah thanks." He went to the fridge and poured water for himself. "O'Connell wants me to build a hotel on his island."

She continued to look at him confused at why he was telling her that not to mention where it had come from.

Looking at the confused expressions on her face Klaus elaborated "in the past whenever I circulated the idea to him he hesitated saying that he didnt want his island to become a tourist spot but now suddenly he is willing to do so. Why would he change his mind?"

She remained quiet, folded her arms over her chest not uttering a single word.

"What? Dont you have any input?"

When she continued to stay quiet he said angrily "you are my executive assistant. You are supposed to have an input to my business propositions."

Hayley sighed and said, giving up her stance "alright! Hmm… Maybe he realized your idea was not bad after all."

"No. That is not it." He shook his head.

Suddenly she burst in frustration and anger "well if you already know what is it then why are you asking me?"

He rounded the island-table thinking "no. There is something else going on here" clearly not bothered by her anger.

"What?" she said tiredly "and can you hurry up? I am tired. I want to go to bed."

Her gaze travelled to his pajamas and the black leather jacket opened from the front showing a black t-shirt underneath, his gaze fixed on the countertop of the island table clearly not bothered that he was standing in _her_ kitchen late night in his night pajamas, ignoring her. To her utter annoyance fury was building up in her at being ignored like that. When he continued to remain quiet she couldn't take it anymore and asked "so what is it? What is your supreme mind telling you about his motives."

He said, still staring at the table top, his thoughtful expressions clearing "he is giving me an incentive to something much more important."

Stifling a yawn, unable to bear his presence so near him, failing in containing her body's response towards him, she said "Mr. Mikaelson you need to leave." _If he stayed any longer she will jump on him and then regret her decision._

"If he really thinks that I am going to go through with it, it is a mistake." Suddenly he blurted furiously ignoring her demand.

"I said leave." she said in a raised voice, wanting him out of her house not wanting to hear what he was thinking.

He looked towards her now and just looked.

"I said leave." Hayley repeated nervously tying the robe ties tightly. _Big mistake,_ she immediately realized as his gaze went to the ties.

"Arent you going to ask me what more important thing?"

"No. because I know." She spat angrily.

"Really? What is it?" He asked looking surprised.

Hayley was beyond caring about anything and she spat once again "he is selling his daughter to you."

"You think so too?" with that same infuriating smile and smug expressions on his face.

 _Why the hell was he smiling like that?_ She wondered furiously. _Doesnt he have self-respect?_

 _a_ s she started to turn towards the main door.

"That makes it difficult." His comment made her stop in her track. She turned towards him and asked "why? " _Why did she have to ask him that._ She groaned.

"Why what?" He asked as he stared at her with a glint in his eyes.

She knew he knew what she was talking about and that just infuriated her. She snapped "why would that make it difficult? From what I understand you were with her this weekend." _Now why the hell did she say that to him?_ She thought furiously. _He needed to leave before she revealed something else._

His heart soared at her outrageous expressions despite the confusion at how she found out about his visit to Camille. _Later,_ he told himself. _Later he will ask her. Right now he needed to deal with this jealousy of hers._ He thought with satisfaction.

"Now, I know that you are not that naive Hayley. I never hire less than best" as he advanced towards her.

Her heart jumped into her throat as she stepped back, her cheeks started to burn and nervous knots formed in her stomach, her pulse against her wrist was pounding so fast that it were getting warm, blood was soaring towards her head.

"What do you think you are doing Mr. Mikaelson. Dont even think about it" Before she stop herself she was saying that.

"What is it Hayley? Are you afraid that you don't want to want me?" He threw back at her what once she had said to him.

He laughed as her eyes widened.

"I am a man Hayley and I can sense desires."

"No. I don't want that." She denied her body's reaction towards him.

"Are you sure?" his voice was silky and he was so near her that he just had to lean in and she would have surrendered. She knew she would do it so she just stayed there, not moving an inch because she knew that if she moved, she will move towards him.

She knew what he was about to do and she didnt want him. He was right. She didnt want to want him and she wanted him to stop wanting… or whatever he was feeling towards her….her. So she lifted her chin and said "of course I am sure but more importantly _are you sure?"_

The knowing smile on his lips made her stomach muscles clench really hard and after a slight hesitation she went for the jugular "are you ready to rate yourself against your father?" her short neat finger nails dug into her palm, if it were not for her short finger nails she was sure she would have bled by that. _'I am sorry Ansel'_ she silently offered an apology to Ansel.

Klaus felt blood drain from his face. His feet arrested and a hot wave of fury rushed through him. He rocked back on his heels, the smile wiped off of his mouth and he started to step back when it hit her what she was saying. He stared at her defiant face, jutted chin, trying to determine if there was a truth to what he was saying. If she was Eden then surely…. he couldnt finish his torturing thought. Any sign of betrayal of what she had just claimed, he searched for the tell-tale signs but no avail and then he stepped closer to her and hissed into his face _"tell me what you just said didnt happen."_

Hayley suddenly lost her nerves at the fury on his face. She hastily took a step back but he grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him hissing again "I swear Hayley if a word you said was true, I will …."

When she remained quiet he hissed again "you will tarnish my father's memory by claiming such a hideous lie?"

She felt like crying, the heavy tears settling down at the back of her throat but she held her own and continued to glare at him. He suddenly pushed her away from him in disgust.

Klaus mind was raging in fury. _This cannot be it. How could he be so wrong? He had felt her. She was Eden. God!_ He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration and turned to leave.

A tortured gasp escaped from her mouth as her arms went around her own torso to stop herself from shivering and to come to terms with what she had just told him. Her heart willed him to stop and turned towards her, her heart pushed her to tell him that she had just lied but the only thing she could do was stare at his retreating body, not knowing that defiance in her eyes had been replaced by torture and regrets.

With his hand on the handle of the door, he shook his head furiously to wrap his mind around what she had just said and how wrong he had been about his discovery. He furiously turned towards her with the intention of outrightly confronting her with her lies and deception. What he witnessed shocked him, her face blanched, her eyes wide, her arms wrapped around her own body. Without another thought he took a leap of faith and stormed towards her.

Hayley stood rooted at her spot desperately looking at him as he stormed towards her, with his hand fisted in fury. He grabbed her shoulders and said angrily "why? why would you lie to me?" She just stared at him desperate for him to understand, to hold her, to make love to her, to leave her alone, to…. She had no idea what she wanted from him at that moment.

The air was thick with tension, so thick that he thought he could slice it with a knife. His mind was confused and then he bend his head and his lips were on her lips. The moment their lips touched, he felt a shudder went through her body. _Liar!_ A voice told him. _She was never with you father if she is reacting this way with you._ He felt a calm settle down and his hand went behind her body resting on the small of her back, slipping down to cup her toned hip. _She would only tell such a ugly lie if she really really wanted to hide herself from you._ He reasoned with himself. The other hand went to the ties of her robes and with one tug undid it, his lips never leaving her lip. His fingers grazed her flat stomach, jerked a bit when he realized that she was naked underneath but he never let go of her lips as his hand inched up and cupped her breast and she arched into him and moaned. It had been so long. So long, he shuddered as his hand cupped her perfect breast, his other hand held her body to his.

Hayley's heart was racing. She knew she needed to stop even though her lie was caught. He knew that she was never with his father. She shuddered at the thought and felt disgusted for making such an ugly lie. For what? Just to get away from him? _Oh God. What was she doing?_ She wondered as she kissed him back. _He will figure it out. She was his wife. Whatever apparent changes to her face, her body was same except for few scars._ She needed to stop but she couldnt. She couldnt and then an image flashed though her mind and and an emotion attacked her so hard that she let go. She never wanted to have that image of him with Camille ever again. _He was her husband. He was hers_. She thought fiercely and relaxed into his kiss.

At last he broke the kiss, stared into her green eyes, wiling her to take off those lenses and show him the hazel color hidden underneath them. His hand squeezed her breast with the gentlest of pressure and a gasp escaped her mouth, her pupil widened and a smiled spread on his lips. "Liar. You would never have reacted to me like that if you were with my father. I was right."

Before Hayley could respond, she was swept off of the ground, his hand under her knees the other one supporting her back and he was striding towards her room. How did he know which one was hers? She wondered as he entered her room and set her on the bed. He stepped back and stared at her with her robe parted and showing her lush breast, flat stomach, huge vulnerable eyes, blushing cheeks.

 _Ask her._ A voice shouted. _Confront her with the truth._

 _No. What if it is not her. What if she is not Eden. What if she doesnt let him touch her._ He rejected the voice as his eyes continued to scan her body.

Following her gaze she tried to bring the lapels together but he stopped her by saying "no. Never hide from me" as he shed off his jacket.

She stared at him as he effortlessly took off his shirt, now standing just in his pajamas, his desire for her straining through the concealing garment.

Hayley's eyes widened as he shed them off too and stood before her shamelessly and then he knelt over her causing her body to arch back until she was lying flat on the bed. The first contact with his naked body made a shiver run through her. It has been so long. With a shock she realized how much she had been craving for him, for this, for something that she had not given a thought to before he started to break her shield.

"You look beautiful" he said feeling as if his thirst have been quenched, his trembling fingers raking her hair, his mouth covered hers and kissed her. He used his tongue to force her part her lips but he didnt have to do a lot. She had given up on all the struggle. The control she had kept on herself for the past two years had been broken and she just wanted to live in present. Her hand went around him and she pulled him towards him and thrusting her tongue against his, her hand slipping down towards his toned hip and rest just above the curve, her fingers gently caressing the skin there causing his body to jerk.

Klaus tongue wrapped around hers, his body shivering under her touch, he wanted to let go, burry himself deep in her but it has been too long and he wanted to savor her. He wanted to taste her.

His lips moved down from her collarbone to the swell of her breast, his teeth bit her skin and then his mouth covered the tip of her breasts and he suckled on it, first softly and then hardly pulled it into his mouth making her utter a loud moan, her body arched pushing her breast further into his face, his hand moved down and cupped her hip and squeezed it. He laved her breast with his tongue, first the right one and then the left one.

Hayley lost all control and by now was thrashing on her bed, her fingers dug into his hair pushing his head down, not wanting him to quit. She was so lost that she didnt realize that his hand had moved from her hip and his fingers were now parting the folds of her intimate part. She gasped and arched further and he pulled at her nipples harder as his finger made the invasion and she thrashed while his other finger joined and rode her through a wild climax.

"Oh" she fell back on the bed.

Klaus felt that he would die if he didnt make a move.

"Do you still not want me?" He asked doubtfully.

Seeing the arrogance on her face, she shook her head saying "no."

Suddenly he smirked and said "you will beg me before this hour is over."

Hayley said "never" but he had buried his face where his hand were invading a while ago and she screamed and her body pushed into him and within minutes he was giving her another earth shattering climax.

He looked up with a wicked smile on his lips and moved up so that his hard velvety erection was at the entrance but he didnt make a move.

She whimpered "please Klaus."

"Please what?" he smiled satisfactory as he removed the sticky hair from her forehead and traced the scar.

"Oh for heaven sake. Fine. I am begging you. Please … I need you." She snapped as she lifted her hip towards what she desired most and he impaled her.

Her gasp and a flinch on her face panicked him for a moment and he started to withdraw but she gasped "no… no… It is just that it has been a while."

"how long?" he asked as he tried to gentle himself.

"No…" she grabbed his hip, dug her nails in them. She moaned "two… two years…give me a minute to adjust to it" she stuttered.

He gazed at her closed eyes, the tightness ebbed and her finger nails hug into the flesh of her hip and her green eyes snapped open. The lust in them threw him off and she grazed the skin of her hip jerking his body forward reaching the hilt. He groaned, and to gain some control he twisted his arms one after another and grabbed her arms and took them over the side of her head and fiercely kissed her, his body jerked again as her long legs wrapped around his buttock and she pushed him inside her. He didnt want to move because he knew that if he moved, it will be over soon but he had too. He couldn't deprive both of them from this pleasure so he moved and instantly she matched his rhythm and it was just like when they were together. They moved in perfect rhythm, the intensity increasing. She had always matched him in this and today was no different. Her fingers squeezed his fingers and he pounded harder, her legs tighten around him, her teeth grazed his shoulder and then she gasped "Ni…. Klaus …." and he could feel the tiny pulses of her climax around her.

Hayley felt she was falling and falling but he was holding her and he was still pounding in her, her climax seemed to go on and she was drowning in it. She bit his shoulder to stop herself from screaming, her body getting limp but it was not stopping and then it started to ebb and his lips showered her with kisses. She felt she would die and then he uttered a primal growl and climaxed around her, the force of it knocked her out. He fell on her and rode his climax by taking deep breaths in the folds of her neck. Everything became still, the room was quiet washed in the light from the lamp, their harsh breathing sounding in the room, his heavy body covering every inch of her slender body plastered to the bed.

 ** _Flashback Hayley_**

 ** _18th October, 2013_**

 _"I dont love Eden. First lesson you need to learn in this marriage. And for your own good dont make a mistake of falling in love with me either. I will crush you when this is all over."_

 _When she remained quiet he continued "I want you to know that I did this because of my father and the company. I was not going to lose everything I had worked hard for two damn years. Your father blackmailed me and my father. He might want a male child to carry on his legacy, I dont. But even then I dont want any child of mine to be born to a drug addict._

 _She gasped and asked "how do you know that?"_

 _He smiled and said "you father voluntarily enlightened me about your drugs and sexual indulgences and your trip to the clean up facility. Tell me how old were you when you first became sexually active?"_

 _She looked up at him with defiance and said "sixteen and now you?"_

 _"Me what?" he asked in confusion._

 _"Oh I thought we are doing postpartum of when we started our sexual experiences."_

 _His face lit with fury as he snapped "that is not your concern."_

 _"Of course not" she murmured sarcastically._

 _"No child of mine will be born to a drug addict. Do you still indulge yourself?" He asked._

 _She shook her head._

 _"What about sex?" He continued in the same disparaging tone._

 _She looked up at him angrily and said "if you are afraid that my whoring ways have gotten me a disease then you can get a team of doctors to get me checked. They will not find anything."_

 _He continued after a few tense seconds "as per the prenup any children that comes out of this union you are welcome to keep them. The moment you have that precious grandson your father wants, we will get a divorce."_

 _"Dont forget about that five millions" she said with a lift of her head._

 _Their eyes met for the first time and she saw the resentment in his eyes. She could see he hated and despised her for putting him in this situation. But she couldn't blame him. She hated and blamed herself too. Her father was punishing her and because of her, he got dragged into all this mess._

 _"How can I forget that? Do you know what sort of a person puts a price on herself?" He asked, his tone and expressions full of contempt for her._

 _Can she tell him? Will he like her truth or continue to believe her father lies? She wondered as she stared into his resentful eyes musingly but then said defiantly "I sold myself for five million dollars. What do you think?"_

 _She could see flair of anger in his eyes and regretted saying that. "Then be ready to pay your dues" he spat and his mouth crushed hers in a punishing kiss._

 _He had kissed her after the ceremony just a few hours ago but this was different. This was pure, raw, animalistic pleasure. Suddenly she realized what was happening and she pushed him, punched him but his lips were coaxing her lips and then just like that she gave up. She was exploding into million pieces and was kissing him back, holding his head in both of his hands and kissing him hard, her leg wrapping around his leg. She was kissing him as if she was thirsty._

 _His "my God" brought her back to earth._

 _"Have I satisfied you in paying my dues? Do you feel contaminated?" She spat at him for making her feel so vulnerable and invoking this response from her._

 _He laughed and brought his lips down to hers again in a punishing intensity and her hands went around his neck, bringing him down to her._

 ** _end flashback_**

His breathing started to ebb and reality started to dawn on him, consequences of his actions staring at him. He had not used any protection. Damn! he groaned but at the moment he had to deal with her, her soft curves pressing into his body, already awaking a certain part of his anatomy for another round but he knew that this was enough for today. He wanted to woo her and he will do that. For now he realized that he had to say something before her mind turn her against him again. Which he knew would happen and she would fall into guilt at what she had done and he will not let her go there. He will not! Blaming what happened between them on emotion will not do the trick. Reasoning and logic was required here. Before he could move he felt her wriggle under him.

She jerked back to present. He was still connected to her, still inside her, his breathing calming down now, his face nestled in her shoulder, her legs still wrapped around her. She let them fall on his side and she pushed him from her. He raised himself on her but didnt bother to move any other part of his anatomy from her.

 **"L** et me move!" She hissed.

"Why?" He asked, adrenaline pumping through him. He had made love with _his wife_. He knew it was Eden.

"I have just remembered who you are." Hayley said furiously as she pushed him back from him, furious at herself for what she had let him do to her, furious at him for making her so weak.

Klaus asked softly not at all offended by her comment, too excited about what had happened between them "what is that suppose to mean?" as he removed the hair from her forehead tracing her fading marks "what happened here?"

Hayley realized her mistake. Her already elevated heart rate raced further. She said "you have hurt me a lot in past" ignoring his question about the injury.

"And for that I apologize. I think I got overprotective."

"overprotective? For Ansel?" She asked curiously, struggling under him and tried to move.

Klaus groaned as he started to arouse because of her continuous wiggling, her effort to get away from under him. He grounded "if you dont stop wriggling, I will not be responsible for what happens …"

She turned red but then said huskily sounding half convincing "get off of me Mr. Mikaelson."

Instantly he threw his head back and laughed "that is quiet a turn on _Ms. Marshall._ "

She angled her arm and poked him in his ribs where she knew, only she knew, only his wife knew, was his weak point. He groaned and got off of her wincing "that was not fair."

"Everything is fair in war and you and I are having world war three." She said with racing heart as she sat down, bringing the bedsheets to her chest, hoping he didnt get suspicious about what she had just done.

When he continued to look towards her she started to turn dragging the sheet with her "what happened today shouldn't have happened. I don't want the repeat either." _Yes, be tough. Don't play a convenient plaything to him._

She was angry at herself for falling for his charm. Where was this charm when they were married. Well he did show it a few months before Hope was born. A voice reminded her and her heart plumped.

"Aren't you going to ask me what I was overprotective about?"

"Well knowing you it must be because I am the gold digger." She answered loftily wanting to hurt him. And then realizing her mistake she said "like your wife." What is wrong with her today? She is dropping hint by hints. What if he catches up on something. She thought furiously.

When he continue to stare at her, she started to feel guilty but then he said unexpectedly "yes I thought that but …."

"but then you realized that you were wrong."

"No. I still think that you are a gold digger but I dont care any more. That is your survival tactics and there is nothing wrong in doing whatever to survive and in any case I know you can bite back."

When she looked blank he said "you made me miss an important appointment as a revenge. Already forgotten your revenge?" he added with a smirk.

"You…" she started angrily and turned away from him "get the hell out of my house."

Klaus sat up totally impervious of his naked state. He picked up his shirt and slipped on his boxers and trousers "why are you so angry? I thought we were enjoying this."

"Your arrogance is astounding. No wonder you cannot live up to your father's caliber."

The fury gripped him again and he started towards her angrily but before he could say anything the phone rang.

Looking at the caller ID his heart jumped a beat. Lucien…. He thought with sinking heart. He took one long look at Hayley still standing by the side of the bed covered in the white sheet clutched at her breasts where he was just sucking a few minutes ago. With racing heart, despite his intentions of not losing Hayley Marshall, despite being convinced the woman trying to pathetically cover herself with the sheet was his wife, a silent prayer escaped from his lips "please let her be Eden…." he put the phone against his ear "yes". One last eye contact and he left.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Okay took me more than a few days to complete this. Not sure how it turned out. I hope you liked it. Feedback will be appreciated._**

 ** _So the cat is almost out of bag. What do you think about O'Connell's proposal?_**


	14. Quenched - part 1

**_A/N: Thank you for the reviews. td DNA testing! yes he can surely do that but before that he needs to have a solid reason for his suspicion. Do remember that it has only been a couple of days, I think two since he had started suspecting Hayley as Eden. As for O'Connell motive, those will be explored but yes he is hoping that Klaus might be more inclined towards Camille after them getting so close in business to each other. He is not really selling his daughter. Hayley/ Eden was being sarcastic since that is what happened with her so she thinks that that is what O'Connell doing whereas he is just hoping that things will naturally progress in that direction since Camille and Klaus will be working together. Your other questions will be addressed in the next couple of chapters. Not many left now._**

 ** _Synopsis: Klaus makes a trip out of town that will give him some answers. Hayley has an informative interaction with Kara. Caroline and Stefan meet up to finalize the details about their wedding._**

* * *

He was at the door, clutching his shirt in his hand, when she asked "who told you?"

"About?" he turned towards her and asked distractedly.

"About the appointment I didnt tell you about" She asked sarcastically.

"Kara" He replied looking down at his cell as it continued to ring.

Hayley expelled a sharp breath on hearing Kara's name and then dragged herself out of the bed feeling strangely depressed. _She wanted him gone so why was she depressed now?_ _Was it Kara or Camille on the phone?_ She asked herself as she thought about his expressions just before picking up the cell. _Well whoever it was, I dont give a damn._ She shook her head angrily. _Kara! So she told him about his missed appointment. That painting!_ She mused. Remembering that note, Hayley wondered if Klaus was supposed to buy a _particular_ painting from that auction and did Kara buy that particular painting for him? She had hardly taken a step away from the bed when she heard the footstep.

"What are you doing back?" She spun towards the door and asked with racing heart, her hand clutching the sheet tightly at her breast.

He looked towards her weirdly and then plopped on her bed saying "what do you think?"

"Mr. Mikaelson, you need to leave" she said authoritatively feeling unnerved by him lying down on her bed dressed in his pants, his shirt discarded on the carpet.

" _Mr. Mikaelson?_ " He asked amusingly as he raised himself on his elbow.

Hayley gritted her teeth and said "Like I told you that it was a mistake…" but before she could continue, he had grabbed her wrist and had pulled her on top of him.

"What are you doing?" She asked in shock as his hand was already slipping between them and tugging her sheet away.

"If you are asking then clearly I am doing something wrong" he replied with a grin.

"I was … I … you were leaving." She was so aware of his clothed and herself being naked over him that she couldnt finish her sentence.

"No… I had a phone call and I was attending it." He said leisurely, his hands settling her on his hip, his erection very much alive under his pants. A shiver of anticipation shot through her. The confusing thoughts of a few minutes ago started to ebb overtaken by desire.

"What happened over here?" He asked as he traced his forefinger over a scar just above her breast swell.

"An old injury." She said unable to look anywhere but his smooth chest save those tattoos of birds that she loved so much.

"Hmm… Looks grave. Stitches?"

"Six" She replied grabbing his hand as the fingers caressed her naked thigh. "Who was it on the phone?"

"A friend." He said absentmindedly tracing the thumb pad of his other hand around her nipples.

She moaned and uttered "ahhh a…" licked her lips and continued as she grabbed his other hand too "a lady friend?"

He smiled "jealous?"

She snapped "you are kidding, right? You are with me in bed?"

Klaus who was expecting her to deny it smiled contently, pulled her down to him, kissed her neck murmuring "make sense."

Hayley pushed herself up in the sitting position by pressing on his chest "so?"

He asked "what?" his fingers parting her gentle folds, her fingers hold on his hand tightened and she almost moaned "Who was on the phone?"

Klaus laughed softly and asked "so this is how it is going to be? You wouldn't let me touch you until I tell you who was on the phone?"

"Yes." Hayley said stubbornly.

"Hmm. This is new…." Klaus started and then seeing confusion creeping in her eyes he changed his response from "you have changed" to "this is new for me." He lifted himself to her, took his lips to her ears, nibbled it like he knew that she liked and murmured "it was a friend. A business deal- and it was - " he bit her earlobe "a guy."

Klaus smiled into her neck as he felt her body relaxing, her hand letting go of his hand and her legs parting further.

When she woke up, her eyes were hurting after having slept the whole night in her lens, this being the first time. She winced as she rubbed her eyes and then jumped as she felt a much larger and harder body next to her stir and memories of last night flashed through her mind. How she had fallen asleep in his arms. Her cheeks reddened.

"Good morning." He muttered and snaked an arm around her waist but she held his hand and pushed it away saying "we need to get up."

Klaus stared at her in confusion and then remembering Lucien's call he swung his legs off the bed and said while rubbing his eyes "I have to go to Boston." He looked over his shoulder and caught her staring at him. "Care to come with me?"

"Of course not." The hospital smell attacked her instantly and she felt violently sick and took a deep breath to control her nausea. Curiosity won over her desire to get away from him and she asked "Why are you going there?" at the same time pulling the sheet to cover herself and stood up.

"A business deal. Remember that phone call?" He said, his eyes eating up her body.

"Hmm" She said and went to the bathroom feeling angry at herself for letting herself fall in bed with him _again_. How could she do that? Had she forgotten what he did to her?

For the next few minutes she washed herself under hot spray, wanting no trace on him on her but her efforts were unsuccessful. He was in her. His smell and touch had gotten embedded in her, deep inside her. She groaned in frustration as she finally gave up, dried herself and put on the robe. Staring in the mirror she started putting on her makeup carefully covering her scars.

The gentle rap of knuckles on the door startled her. His incredulous voice came through the locked door "I cannot believe that you have actually locked the door on me."

The towel wrapped around her fell on the ground and the lens slipped from her hand. "Wait. I am opening it." She said in panic.

"Hayley I need to talk to you about today's agenda. Can you hurry up? I have a flight to catch in a couple of hours."

"Okay. I am coming." She said panicking now and dropping on her knees searching frantically for her lens muttering "where is it? where is it?' A few seconds later she took a deep breath of relief when she suddenly saw it resting on her towel. She hurriedly put it in her eye, blinked to settle it and hurriedly applied some more applicator on her dimming scar and then dashed to the door.

Klaus turned towards her and then causally wiped the powder from her cheek saying "Stefan will come to deliver the papers. Can you handle that?"

"Of course I can" she said feeling flustered at seeing him so calm when she was all nerves inside. Feeling conscious she patted her hair.

"I like your hair down" He smiled touching her loose curls. When she didnt say anything he continued "Okay good. Walk with me" as he headed towards the door not bothering to see if she was following him or not as he continued to dictate the tasks to be taken care of in his absence.

He turned towards her when they reached the front door and said "you can sleep in since I didn't let you sleep last night" with that twinkle in his eyes.

She wanted to smash that grin off of his face but before she could do anything his hand raised and his fingers slightly grazed her wayward hair as she stepped back angrily. Hayley smashed the door close behind him angry knowing well that she was acting childishly but she was so annoyed and confused with him and herself.

* * *

An hour later Klaus was standing by Caroline's room door after knocking at it, dressed in casual jeans and shirt, while Joseph took his bag down. When she opened the room with sleepy eyes, Klaus said "Care, I have to go to Boston urgently. Hope is your responsibility" and started towards the stairs.

Caroline stared at him and then she came fully awake, rubbed her eyes and followed him saying "Klaus, Boston? But you cannot. Nessa is visiting her family in Oklahoma for her sister wedding and I have to go on a dinner with Stefan tonight. We are getting married in two day sand there are many things to discuss."

Klaus stopped at the bottom step, turned towards her and said "Caroline manage something."

Caroline said frustratingly, getting angry at his dismissive attitude "Klaus, maybe you didnt hear me. I have plans today."

Klaus said angrily "I heard you the first time. I am sorry but I have to go. Why was Nessa given a full weekend off?"

Caroline said angrily "Nessa asked for this weekend two months back Klaus. It is in your schedule too. You shouldn't have made plans. You should have thought that I am getting married in two days and…."

He raked his fingers in his hair and said interrupting her "this is really important. Surely you can manage with Stefan tomorrow or ask him to join you here tonight. I will be back late" as he closed the door on her leaving her steaming after him. Caroline shouted "oh I am so glad I am not getting married to you, you self-centered ass!" at the closed door and then angrily headed upstairs.

 _"Klaus, I cannot find anything about Hayley Marshall. The oldest information I can get is of 2014. Nothing before that. It is like as if she never existed before that."_

Lucien's voice continued to play in his mind on the way to Boston. Even though Lucien sounded disappointed at reaching the dead end and wanted to explore further but Klaus was not and had told him to stop digging. He was excited. He was so excited that he had almost lost himself when he had gone back to her. Seeing her standing near the bed, clutching that sheet with a forlorn expressions on her face had panicked him for a minute. She was thinking, he could see that. She was regretting what had happened between them. He couldnt let her go there. He had not been able to control his urges, his desire, his control and taken her again. Remembering how her body had felt under him made him uncomfortable and he adjusted his position in his seat to relief the pressure that was building in certain part of his body. He felt like he was in school again when despite knowing what grade he would be getting in his exam, he wanted to know the result yet again afraid that he might fail. Remembering how he had seen her sleeping last night in his arms, he winced as he realized that they had never slept in each others arms during their marriage despite a slight shift in their sexual intimacy towards the end of her pregnancy. Seeing her sleeping so peaceful had unnerved him as he recalled that he had never seen her sleeping at all in their one year of marriage. He had wronged her in so many ways. He had to makeup for all those things. He vowed himself.

* * *

Stubbornly she got ready and aimed to reach the office at her regular time but still she managed to be there half an hour later than her usual time. She cursed Klaus for confusing her. She took deep breaths, counted back from hundred and every other trick she had read in book to control her anger, her resentment and her lack of control. At last half an hour later she managed to gain some control over herself after deciding that she will never let him touch her again and that she will not think about Klaus Mickelson at all and keep her focus on the fact that she will get to go home early today and with some luck manage to spend some time with Hope. She settled down behind her desk and took a deep sigh of relief at the calm in the office. Just another week, she reminded herself.

After shuffling two of his appointment for later this week she settled back in her chair and closed her eyes. As soon as her eyes closed images from last night started flashing through her mind. She groaned and opened her eyes again. Last night was magical, she could deny that. It had reminded her of those passionate night they spend together during the later part of her pregnancy when she had started hoping their was something developing between them. A part of her wanted that back while another part was reminding her of that night, the night that took everything from her. Visit from Stefan's PA was a good distraction. To keep herself busy she opened the document and started reading it. By the time she was done reading it, she felt calm and her mind was totally distracted from Klaus and last night.

She was about to get up for lunch when the glass door opened and Kara walked in, looking

polished as ever, dressed in red suit today and perfect hair falling on her shoulders, not a strand out of place and that smile on her lips.

"hello Ms. Marshall."

"Kara" Hayley greeted as she fixed a smile on her lips and picked up her bag.

When Kara started towards Klaus's room, Hayley said "he is not in" as she started towards the elevator.

"Oh where is he?"

Hayley turned towards her and after a moment said "he had some business to take care of."

"Oh?" Clearly wanting to know more.

"Can I take a message for him?" Hayley asked reluctantly, getting frustrated at her own reluctance in not telling her about Klaus's whereabouts.

"I wanted to ask him if he got the package I send him."

"The painting?" Hayley asked remembering that card and instantly was engulfed in the cloud of jealousy. _He is her husband. What does this woman want from him?_ She wondered furiously.

"yes the painting." Kara said. "He had been waiting for this painting to become available for purchase but he missed that appointment so I ended up buying it for him."

"You went to extreme trouble to do something so sweet for your boss." Hayley said with a bite "I admire your dedication to your job."

"Of course anything for Mr. Mikaelson. I owe him a lot. He was there for me when I needed support the most."

Hayley wanted to scream at her and wanted to tell her that she needed to back off from _her husband_ but she gave Kara her tight smile and said "I am glad for you" and turned towards the elevator but to her dismay apparently Kara was not done. She followed her as she waited for the elevator.

"Do you mind if I have lunch with you. I dont feel like having lunch alone." Kara said smilingly as they both entered the elevator.

Hayley groaned inward but then impulsively said "yes. Sure," a desire to get to the bottom of her and Klaus's relationship egging her.

Ten minutes later they were sitting in her favorite restaurant where she often had lunch, normally alone.

Kara passed the menu to the waiter saying "thank you." After he left she asked Hayley "so you come here often?" as she looked around.

"Yes. it is close to the office and I like the food here."

Kara looked at her nodding and asked "how are you liking working for him?"

Hayley smiled _'yes jump right to him'_ and said "well he is workaholic."

"Yeah. He is. Which means we are too." Kara laughed and then continued hurriedly "but that does not mean that he ignores his family."

"Oh?" Hayley asked indulgently.

"I mean I have worked with him for the past four years now and I know how much dedicated he is towards his family despite his responsibilities to his business."

Hayley remained quiet wanting her to talk as much as she could.

As expected Kara continued "You know you are so lucky. You have an excellent opportunity to learn so much from him. Not that I am not enjoying working with his brother. I just miss working for Klaus… I mean Mr. Mikaelson. You know, I am taking business classes in the evening and working with him is such a great experience and think about the practical experience." She sighed and leaned back as the waiter put her order in front of her and she dug in delicately.

"I didnt know you were studying."

"Oh Mr. Mikaelson thought that I have aptitude towards business so he advised me to pursue it." Kara said as she took a bite of her baked chicken and said "oh this is really nice" and then asked "aren't you eating?" when Hayley just continued to look at her.

Kara leaned forward and said "let me give you an advice. Whatever you do, never ever say anything against his family."

"What do you mean?" Hayley asked with racing heart.

"Mr. Mikealson is very sensitive about his family."

Shocked at her response Hayley couldnt control her reaction and gaped at Kara as if she had lost her mind. _Were they talking about the same person?_ She wondered.

Not disappointing her Kara continued "he will do anything for the family honor. I just dont have in me to sacrifice my happiness for any member of my family. I mean why would I have a miserable life so that it will make my father happy but after meeting Mr. Mikaelson, I am just wow."

At Hayley's blank look, she put the fork down and continued "I mean look at what he did for his father….." she looked around and seeing that no one was overhearing her she continued "you know about his wife, you know."

Now her ears prickled and curiosity made her ask "what do you mean?"

"Well you know how he had to marry Eden because her father practically blackmailed him" she replied.

A strong desire to defend their marriage made her say automatically "I thought it was a business merger of some sort." She knew it was weak but she wanted to save some face value.

Kara laughed and said "of course that is what everyone was told but I know. He shares everything with me." The pride in her voice and that satisfied smile on her face making Hayley want to punch her face.

"Did he love her?" She asked before she could school her thoughts. Her heart racing in her chest, her voice low. _What the hell is wrong with her? Of course he didnt love her._ Before she could say something else Kara said " _Of course not. She was bestowed on him."_

"How do you know that? Did he tell you?" She asked with sinking heart quickly finding out that having an idea that your husband hated you but knowing the others knew about that too was just a slap on the face. She wanted to kill Klaus for sharing their personal life with his _assistant. No wonder she never patched him through to Klaus because he clearly told her about the nature of their relationship._

 _"_ No.. he didn't…"

"Well then I don't think you should be telling people what _you_ thought about their relationship" Feeling relieved but still annoyed at Klaus and Kara, she snapped.

"Oh I just thought … you seemed interested. I didnt mean to badmouth him or anything. I am sorry if I have offended you. It is just that I feel so sorry for him after what went down with his wife. He deserves better. That is why I try to make his life as smooth as I can because he deserves better. " She looked pointedly at her. "I am sure you are doing your best but I am so concern about him. He does not like any disruption in his routine and smoothly run routine." She shrugged and Hayley wanted to throw her glass of water at her face.

"Well he has been doing fine since the past week." Before she could stop herself she snapped, hating her more and more with each passing minute.

"Of course. I didn't mean to imply anything." Kara said with a pleasant smile.

Hayley scoffed _'didnt mean to imply anything?!_ _Ha! What a joke?_ _How could she defend Klaus apparent dedication to his family when he so clearly ignores his daughter? And she had an idea that he didnt like his wife. Even if Klaus didnt tell her, he must have done something for her to believe that of their relationship. Her obvious love for her husband was making her blind. Well she can be blind and have her husband. They both deserve each other._ She thought angrily as she looked down at her untouched food having lost her appetite. _And she let him in her bed last night,_ she thought in anguish. _Him! Oh God, Kara knew about his feelings for her. Who else knew?_ She wondered in anguish. She felt sick thinking that their acquaintances knew that he despised her. She herself knew it but the whole world knowing it made her violently sick. She gulped the nausea down and pushed her plate away saying "I am done" signaled the server to bring the cheque. Ten minutes later she was walking back to her office, the conversation with Kara drilling bullet holes in her heart. After reaching her office she threw her purse in the drawer. She took deep breath to calm herself down and tried to get absorbed in her work.

She looked up when the door opened and Tristan came in. He smiled and said "Hey Hayley how are you?"

"Good" Hayley smiled glad for the distraction.

"Listen I need help." He sat across her and continued "Can you please help me with this document? This is Ansel's handwriting. You were familiar with it."

"Oh" Hayley looked at the document and asked "why do you have this?" and then answered herself "of course. Mark was handling this deal. Sure I can do that. Give me a couple of hours."

Tristan said smilingly "thank you. You are a gem. Oh and girls are so excited about their dance classes. Maybe I will see you there too."

Hayley groaned inwards understanding where Tristan was going. She replied "yeah maybe. Now I have to do this."

Tristan said "sure and oh take your time. I am not supposed to give it back till Monday."

"Tomorrow" Hayley said as he opened the door to leave.

She shook her head feeling confused at Tristan's intentions and sighed as she scanned the document thinking about Ansel and his old school methods. A sad smile appeared on her lips as a vivid image of him walking down those corridors flashed through her eyes.

* * *

 **Boston**

Around the same time Klaus was standing in the lobby of John Hopkins Hospital, his heart thudding excitedly in his chest. A part of him already knew that he will not find the death certificate but still having been proven right elated him. He smiled as he recalled Eden's soft body under him just a few hours ago. Wondering what he was doing here when he was sure that his wife was in Mystic Falls in the guesthouse of Haven, he looked around scanning his brain about his next course of action knowing well that he will not rest until he has physical proof that his wife was alive despite his believes and instincts. Suddenly he laughed as he realized that now he had sufficient reason to get her DNA checked against Hope's. Well if he didnt find anything here he will do that- next step. He told himself. Dr. Mehta! He looked around for the directory and then walked towards the elevators. Looking at the doctors directory next to one of them he pressed the down button to summon the elevator.

Ten minutes later he entered the room of a Dr. Mehta, a middle age doctor looking at him curiously. "What can I do for you?"

He said "my name is Klaus Mikaelson. I believe that you know my father Ansel Stantson and," he paused for a moment for the name to sink in and the reaction to be absorbed "and my wife Eden Mikaelson."

Dr. Mehta took a deep breath and said "yes I knew Ansel. He was a good friend and a benefactor to this hospital. I am so sorry for your loss."

Klaus inclined in acknowledgment not taking his eyes of the doctor's face "and my wife?"

"Eden was my patient. Yes." Dr. Mehta said.

The divergence of tight-lipped information told him that he was not going to get anywhere with this cat and mouse game so he came straight out "I need to find some information about my wife."

"Mrs. Mikaelson was my patient. Under patient doctor confidentiality policy I cannot tell you anything about her."

"My wife is dead so there shouldnt be a confidentiality issue." Klaus said feigning ignorance. _'Say that she is not dead'_ an inner voice begged Dr. Mehta.

A shadow passed on the doctor's face, his eyes averted from him just for a moment. _'Was it guilt?'_ Klaus wondered but when Dr. Mehta didnt elaborate Klaus asked "Is there a problem doctor?"

"None. I just cannot disclose any information about my patient."

Klaus said in a soft voice after a moment of silence "I love my wife Dr. Mehta. Lets cut to the chase. You and I both know that she is alive but I want to hear it from your mouth."

Dr. Mehta said calmly "I am glad to hear that you love her but I still cannot tell you anything."

Klaus said standing up "I guess I have to bring a court order."

But to his frustration Dr. Mehta didnt budge,didnt show any reaction. He huffed and started towards the door when Dr. Mehta said "out of curiosity if you know that she is alive then what did you want to know?"

He turned back and asked "what happened to her?"

"Oh."

"Nothing else?" Klaus asked.

Dr. Mehta laughed and said "this is getting us nowhere. You know that I cannot reveal any information about my patients. Dead or alive?"

"And since my wife is not dead you are bound by that policy?" Klaus asked

When Dr. Mehta didnt comment he said "I have looked but there is no death certificate for her so there is no point discussing that issue. I know she is alive since I have met her."

Dr. Mehta's eyes narrowed slightly "You have?"

"Yes I have" Klaus said.

"Okay great then." Dr. Mehta said calmly "Why are you here then?"

Klaus laughed helplessly. Despite his frustration at the doctor he was starting to like him more and more with each passing second. "Let's assume that she is alive" Dr. Mehta started "I wonder why has she not told you about herself?"

"Eden and I didn't part on good terms. She does not trust me and I am going to win it back but for that I need to know that I am not barking up against the wrong tree."

"Wrong tree?" Dr. Mehta asked, curiosity on his face as he leaned forwards resting his arms on his desk.

Klaus took out his cellphone and placed it on the desk in front of him.

Dr. Mehta continued to look at him for a minute and then he broke eye contact and picked up the phone from the table.

Klaus kept his eyes focused on his face and didnt miss the slight twitch in the jaws and pursing of his lips. He suddenly realized that his heart was beating so hard that he could actually count the heartbeats.

After staring at it for a while Dr. Mehta continued "Do you know how many trauma patients I have to deal with every day?"

Klaus kept quiet waiting for the doctor to crush his suspicion but it never came.

Dr. Mehta continued, still staring at the picture "I have encountered people with varying desire to live after being through such a trauma. To survive and live a full life after such a trauma a really strong desire and will is required and once a while I get to see that."

 _'Damn it. He needed to hear that confirmation'_ Klaus thought in frustration "is this her?"

"I am sorry once again. I cannot tell you anything about my patients. What I can do is hope that you find what you are looking for."

Klaus cursed in frustration, snatched the phone from his outstretched arm and said angrily "for heaven sake. You just have to say it is her. I know it is her" he looked at the picture of Hayley and him from the gala "I know it is her" He whispered again.

But then he turned and started towards the door. His hand was on the door knob when Dr. Mehta asked "why is it so important for you to know what happened to you wife?"

"I should have been there for her." He said, regret for so many things weighing on his heart.

"In my experience a patient if decides to change his or her appearance, there is only one reason."

"And what is that?" Klaus turned towards the doctor and asked curiously and slight annoyance.

"They are afraid of the person they are hiding from." Dr. Mehta replied calmly.

Klaus reached the desk in three big strides and said angrily, slapping his hand on the desk. "I _loved_ my wife"

Not at all affected by Klaus's reaction Dr. Mehta remained quiet. Klaus raked his fingers through his hair and asked calmly "why do you assume that she is hiding from me? Because of the birthmark she got removed?"

Still no reaction.

He sighed and started to leave again.

"Of course I cannot tell you about your wife but I can tell you in general what a person suffering facial trauma in an accident has to go through."

KLaus inclined his head and walked towards the chair.

By the time Dr. Mehta was done discussing the injuries of a "hypothetical patient" and the recovery of such incidence Klaus was plunged further into the sea of guilt and regrets. He stood up and shook hands with the doctor, thanked him and left the room. The moment the door closed behind him he sagged against the wall with relief. Even though Dr. Mehta had not confirmed that Hayley was Eden but he had given all the right reactions to prove his suspicions. _Why would he indulge in discussing the "hypothetical situation" if it was not Eden? Why would he not say that it is not Eden? Hayley Marshall is Eden Mikaelson._ Now he can make up for the lost time, for what he had done to her, destroyed their relationship, destroyed his daughter's chances of being raised by her mother.

* * *

 **In the mean time in Mystic Falls**

Hayley stretched her arms and shoulders to relief herself of the tension that had build up between her shoulder blades after tying for so long. She looked at her wristwatch and seeing it was five she smiled, switched off her computer and after picking up her purse, she left the office.

An hour and a half later she was sipping her coffee after having a light dinner, sitting on the steps of her small porch watching Hope trying on her tricycle while Caroline was sitting on the swing looking at her. Regrets and anger at Klaus was building up in her, for missing yet another opportunity for not being able to teach Hope how to cycle.

Caroline was furious with Klaus. _What did he think of himself? Is everything about him? He didnt even bother to ask her if she had any plans. Just assumed that she would be Hope's ready made baby sitter._ She stared at Hayley and then making a decision got up and walked towards her. "I have a favor from you."

"What?" Hayley asked gripping her cup in both hands.

"Nessa is on vacation for the weekend and I have to meet Stefan for the dinner. It is really important. I cannot get out of it. Can you babysit Hope? I mean she will be sleeping by that time. You just have to make sure she is okay. Nothing else."

Hayley literally jumped up with excitement and said "of course I can. But Mr. Mikaleson…" a frown appeared on her forehead.

"He does not need to know." Caroline said dismissively. "And in any case this is emergency."

She continued warily and left.

* * *

 **New York Saint Bernard**

Hannah, this came for you." Sister Katherine said to Hannah.

"What is it?" the girl replied morosely as she walked to the dorm door.

"I dont know. Why dont you open it?" The sister replied gently.

"Is it from Mr. Mikaelson? No one give me anything." Hannah said as she looked for the name on the package. "Eden used to give me gifts but she is…." her lips wobbled as she started ripping off the paper.

Sister Katherine went in and sat with her and said in a soft voice "you sister is with God. She wouldn't want you to be unhappy Hannah."

"I know." She replied without looking towards her and finally unwrapped the gift. "OH…" She exclaimed excitedly as she held the doll in her arms and said excitedly "look sister. I must thank Mr. Mikaelson for what he has send me."

"Yes that will be nice." The sister replied as she examined the gift to satisfy her and a frown appeared on her forehead when she read the note attached to it "Happy birthday my sweetheart."

She peeled the note off of the gift and crumpled it in her fist.

When Hannah seemed to be involved in her gift sister Katherine said "do you want to talk to him?"

"Ahan." Hannah said excitedly still examining her gift.

Sister Katherine couldn't help but feel a twinge in her heart seeing the excitement on her face. She smiled and said "alright you go to sleep right now. We will call him tomorrow."

Hannah smiled, tucked herself in the bed, clutching the american girl doll close to her and closed her eyes with a smile.

* * *

 **Mystic falls**

Around eight, feeling excited she picked up her cell. She was almost to the door when her cell rang. She groaned seeing Cami's name on the caller ID.

She asked "Hayley, I had a meeting with Klaus but I cannot get hold of him. Do you have any idea where he is."

Hayley snapped, suddenly remembering them being cozy cozy and said "not his wife."

"What?" Camille said bewildered at her response and then continued before Hayley could say anything "I am sorry I didnt get that."

"No..no" She said regretting her outburst. "I am story, I had a long day." She wanted to put the phone down and go to Hope.

"That's fine Hayley. It is just that Klaus stood me up. We need to discuss an important matter discussing a proposal I gave him and he just didn't come."

"I am sure he would have if he could." She replied feeling insanely jealous.

"Oh okay. I guess I will talk to him tomorrow." Before disconnecting.

Hayley sighed, counted back from hundred and when she had control her anger, her feelings, she headed towards the main house. Joseph smiled "Good evening ."

"Good evening Joseph. Umm Ms. Stantson is expecting me" She explained when he remained standing there.

Seeing hesitation on his face she remembered Klaus anger at Joseph last time when she was with Hope. Feeling confused at what to do now she just stood there and then, maybe the stars were on her side today, Caroline's voice came from the top of the stairs "Joseph, Ms Marshall will be here in a minute. Let her up."

Joseph smiled and stepped back.

Hayley muttered "thanks" and headed straight to Hope's room. Caroline all dressed up for her dinner was fixing already fallen asleep Hope's blanket.

She turned towards Hayley and said "oh, come in. She has just fallen asleep. Thanks for doing this for me. Her bottle and rest of things if you need them" Caroline pointed towards Hope's accessories while fixing her earring. When Hayley nodded, Caroline kissed Hope on her forehead and left.

Hayley took deep breaths to calm her racing heart and walked towards her daughter, knelt near her, for the first time so near her after Ansel's death. She touched her hand, bend down and kissed it softly and holding it she put her head on her bed.

* * *

Downtown Caroline looked up at Stefan after their lawyer got up and left taking the prenuptial document with him. She smiled and said "I cannot wait for Saturday. Thank you for doing this for me Stefan."

"Of course. We are both doing each other a favor." Stefan said.

"I know. Isn't that great?" She said excitedly. Explaining the sudden appearance of confusion on Stefan's face she said "Now we are entering in this relationship on equality basis. When I proposed to you I thought you are doing me a favor but finding out that you need a wife as much as I need a husband makes me very much satisfied about our decision. Your mother will be really happy with this marriage."

"Of course she is. She has been after me to provide her with a grandchild for so long after having lost hopes in Damon. Now that we are married, at least she will be satisfied that we are halfway there." Stefan laughed.

She laughed and said "at least for the next year she will be off your back." The smile slipped from her face as she said "but Stefan we cannot have a child."

"I know. I just signed that document, didnt I? But _she_ does not know that. Now that we are married, she knows we can get pregnant at any time but we can always say that we are not planning to have a baby at least for a year. I am sure she will be fine. As long as she has hope she will be fine."

Caroline smiled as she dug into her tiramisu.

* * *

Klaus entered a quiet home feeling excited despite being so tired after traveling half and day and going through the emotional upheaval of talking to Dr. Mehta. He wanted to go to Hayley after checking on Hope so he hurried towards Hope's room. The moment he opened the door his feet arrested as he saw tumble of brunette hair on Hope's bed. His heart jumped into his throat as he recognized those hair. Of course he recognized them. His heart melted at the same time guilt and the familiar pang of regret filled it for the loss of time between his daughter and her mother. He walked to her and gently touched her shoulder.

Hayley startled awake and looked up with sleepy eyes and then jumped up. "Klaus!" She almost shouted.

He instantly put a finger to her lips, gesturing towards Hope, beckoning her towards the door. Hayley hastily stood up, patted her hair wincing once again as she realized that she had once again slept in her lens. She turned towards Klaus standing near the door and feeling flustered she started towards the door. As she approached him she opened her mouth to explain her presence there but suddenly he grabbed her arm, pushed the door closed with the other hand. He then pushed her against the door, his lips capturing hers. All her resolve drained from her as her hands cupped his cheek and her body melted into his. Before she knew it, her legs were wrapped around his hips and she was pulling him towards her. She moaned as his lips traveled down her collarbone, his hand cupping her breast, the other on the door trapping her in his embrace, his teeth biting her lower lip causing her to moan as a delicious pain went through her body, a molten heat gathering at the juncture of her legs. They both startled when they heard a soft voice "daddy…."

Klaus broke the kiss but didnt let her go, their breathing coming hard. He took deep breath to catch his breath and then he removed his hand from her breast.

Hayley let her legs fell on the ground and cursed "Oh my god! This is insane. What were we doing? What if she had seen us?"

Klaus took a deep breath to quench his thirst for his wife and turned towards his daughter saying "hey honey…"

"Daddy I need water." She said still sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

He said "I will get it" wiping his face, turned towards Hayley and whispered "dont leave" before leaving the room.

By the time he came back, Hayley had left. He sighed and sat down near Hope knowing well it will be no use going to her now especially when Hope was saying "I missed you daddy. Can you tell me a story?"

"Sure Hope" he sighed as he picked up a book from her bookshelf.

* * *

Hayley, with shaking hands changed her clothes, wondering about what had happened in Hope's room. Dazzlingly she walked to her bed and fell down, squeezed her eyes shut as she felt his lips on her neck. _Damn it Niklaus! What are you doing to me?_ She groaned as she tossed and turned. I am in deep trouble. She told herself. Ugh. Think about something else. Think about Hope and how you felt just being so close to him. Damn it, not him, her. _Think about how you felt being so close to her. Think about how Klaus didnt retaliate in anger today after seeing you with Hope. Think about how your relationship with Klaus will affect your relationship with Hope. Think about your daughter and then decide how you want your relationship with Klaus to progress._ She sighed in frustration as she realized that she was not immune to his touch now that she has had the taste of it again. Her armor had been broken into. She couldnt go back to ignoring him like she had been doing since the accident. _But this time she will not be doormat like last time. This time their relationship if this goes anywhere it will be on equality._ That was the last thought in her mind as she drifted to sleep.

* * *

 ** _A/N: I hope you liked it. The next few chapter maybe a bit shorter. Maybe that will help me post quicker lol._**


	15. Defining moments - 1

**_A/N: thanks for wonderful reviews. Sorry for delayed update but hey a very long chapter :). Hope you enjoy it._**

 ** _Synopsis: Caroline and Stefan say their wedding vows. Klaus and Hayley get a waking call about their priorities in life._**

* * *

When she woke up next morning she was a little disoriented and then she remembered what had happened a day ago and she groaned. Why, Why did she let him touch her again? Why did she react that way towards her? Her cheeks flamed as she recalled how she had clung to him. Every time he came near her, she crumbled to the ground. When did she become this weak? What about to that resolve, that hate that she had nurtured during the past two years? She thought in anguish. Squeezing her eyes shut she tried to block that night and his deceit, hide the hurt for making her laughing stock in their friends' eyes by revealing his true feelings for her. _Why? Why did you have to share your feelings for me with Kara Klaus?_ She thought in anguish. _I could have lived with your hate but knowing that you shared your … with your assistant and Elijah. OH God, he must know too and that is why he agreed to conspire with you to frame me?_ She shook her head. Oh God, how can she forgive him for everything? The fury started to build up in her again. Hope. A single name crumbled that fury into nothing. _Can she forget everything for Hope? To get another chance with her. If she could do that for Hannah then surely she can do this for Hope._ She sighed as she wrapped her body in a big white towel and stood before the mirror staring into her hazel brown eyes.

' _You should tell him who you are.'_ An inner voice pipped. ' _You can only have a real mother daughter relationship with Hope if you tell him who you are.'_

 _But what if telling him turn out to be mistake. Like last time he throws you out of her life. What if telling him makes you lose this Klaus that you secretly hoped for during your marriage._

' _But he told you that he loved his wife. Why?Why did you have to lie to me Klaus?'_ She sighed as she took off the towel and after glancing at the remnants of the injury in the middle of her breast, she walked to the walking closet.

 _No, she can never forgive and forget what happened but she can learn to live with it, accept it and try to live around that if he pursues her. She can do that for Hope._ She sighed at the tight corner she was in where she didnt want to do things but she had to, she had to for Hope and Hannah. She had a lot to lose here.

Despite all her confusing thoughts, hoping that he does not bring up last night or the night before she drove towards the office.

After straightening his desk she left the office thinking about the coming weekend when she would be able to sleep in and relax. Maybe she will go for a long drive and free her mind. She set her computer and her appointment book and last time checked the document she had finalized from the appointment with Stefan.

She looked up when the elevator door opened silently and he stepped out. Her heart rate raced and her cheeks burnt.

Klaus stalked towards Hayley and said "good morning Hayley."

"Good morning Mr. Mikaelson." she gritted her teeth.

Klaus feet arrested, his hand on the handle of the door. He turned towards her, gave her a exasperated smile but without saying went to his office.

Ten minutes later he looked up when she entered the room with his coffee. Hayley keeping the image of last night out of her mind said "Ms O'Connell called …" but before she could even continued he groaned interrupting her "apologize her from me and buy me some time. I need to think about that project."

She stared at him surprised at how cool he was and blustered "think about it? You suspect what O'Connell's motive is and you still want to think about it."

He leaned back and nodded thoughtfully "yes. I want to think over it. Whats next on my agenda?"

The very thought that he might be thinking about indulging O'Connell's fantasy her heart broke. So she was just an itch he needed to take care of, she wondered as she stared at his bend head, his fingers flying on the keypad of his laptop. She wanted to shut the lid of his laptop on his fingers to demand his attention but she reminded herself of her vow and said coldly "fine."

* * *

Klaus looked up at her cold tone, smiled and then looked back down while she continued "this is your schedule for today and this is what we came up with Stefan." She put the file on the desk and left quietly. Klaus smiled knowingly when the door closed behind her.

* * *

They were busy with meetings one after another and she who had been hoping to avoid discussing the issue felt deep twinge of disappointment at being ignored what went down between them. Despite the number of times their eyes had met during the meetings, there was nothing in his eyes, no acknowledgement of what they had shared during the past twenty four hours. Despite her resolve during the shower, despite her self-imposed condition of 'if he pursues her' a deep dread was settling in her stomach and suddenly there was no question of 'if'. She _wanted_ him to pursue her but she wanted to have some control too. She was so confused. She thought in anguish. She _wanted_ to ask him where their relationship stood. Squaring her shoulders she went to his room but the room was empty. _Was it a sign?_ She started to turn when she heard the cell ringing. She stood rooted at the spot for a moment as the phone continued to ring. And then it stopped ringing. She started to turn when it started ringing again. She shook her head and left his room. The moment she reached her desk her phone started ringing. She picked it up. "Mr. Mikaelson office."

"This is sister Katherine from Saint Bernard boarding school in New York. Can I talk to Mr. Mikaelson? I have been trying to get in touch with him through his personal cell phone but he was not picking up."

Hayley's heart raced, panic started to settle in her heart and a stone dropped in her stomach as her thoughts went to Hope. She asked "I am his assistant. Is there a message to give him?" when she actually wanted to ask "is Hannah alright?"

"Umm… Hannah Emerson wants to talk to him. She is his late wife's sister."

"Oh…what…" Hayley started when the door opened and Klaus entered the room. Their eyes met and she offered the phone to him saying "it is for you. Someone from Saint Bernard boarding school."

"oh?" He said in confusion as he walked to her and took the phone from her.

He said "hello" with his eyes fixed on Hayley trying to gauge her reaction, his mind confused as to the nature of the call.

"Mr. Mikaelson, this is Sister Katherine from Saint Bernard's. Hannah Emerson wants to talk to you."

"Oh…" He felt lost for a moment and flustered knowing that Hayley was looking at him curiously but then he said "put her through."

Hayley started fumbling on her keyboard having an idea that probably she should leave him alone but stubbornly she continued to sit there wanting to hear or get the gist of what was going on with Hannah. She had to keep her hands busy because she knew that if she didnt she would snatch the phone from him and talk to Hannah herself.

Klaus eyes met Hayley for a moment before she looked away. He smiled. There was so many tell-tales. How did he miss all those things? Suddenly he realized that someone was talking into his ear.

"Oh… Hannah. How are you?"

A quiet and a whisper as if someone was talking to her over the phone and then her hesitant voice came "I am good Mr. Mikaelson. I wanted to … I wanted to thank you for the doll you send me. It is beautiful. Thank you." Klaus looked towards Hayley who was still standing there looking

"I am glad you liked it Hannah."

Hannah asked after slight hesitation "did you buy it for me?"

"No. My assistant selected it for you. I dont have any experience in buying gifts for girls Hannah." He said looking at Hayley's bend head.

"But you have a daughter. Does she not like dolls?" Hannah said innocently.

Klaus was quiet for a moment, taken aback by that simple observation. He should know what girls like. He does have a daughter, a daughter who was related to Hannah, her aunt.

 _But what do you really know about her?_

 _I know everything about her._ He shushed the voice angrily.

 _You didnt know she would like girls._

 _Need to know._

 _Duty. She is a duty to you._ That voice said again.

He looked at Hayley's bend head "yes I do have a daughter" but stopped talking when Hayley scooted her chair back, got up and left her room.

Ten minutes later she looked at her face in the ladies room after composing her fluttering heart, fixed her hair, took a deep breath and thinking that he must be done with Hannah, she gathered her courage and went back to the office. She stopped in her track when she found him hunched over her desk, deep in thoughts. She wanted to ask him what did Hannah say but instead she asked "is everything alright Mr. Mikaelson?"

"Will you drop this?" He turned towards her angrily and burst.

"What?" She asked flabbergasted at his outburst.

He grabbed her from her upper arms and almost shook her saying "are you serious? Are you going to pretend last night and night before that didnt happen between us?"

"I am not the one who is doing any pretending!" before she could stop herself the words were out.

"What is that suppose to mean?" Klaus asked, his eyes narrowing dangerously and Hayley quivered.

Hayley pushed him away from her muttering "doesnt matter."

"It does matter." Klaus insisted.

She muttered again but looked at him defiantly "Well you have been aloof since morning."

"I had loads to do." Klaus said through gritted teeth.

 _'Now why didnt she think of that?'_ She thought in frustration. She fixed her hair feeling conscious, try to cover the scar at her hairline.

Klaus continued to stare at her now flushed face and asked "so you thought that I am ignoring you?"

When she just glared at him he continued in his typical annoyed and tried voice "it might have missed your attention that I have a lot of backlogged meetings."

She squared her shoulders refusing to be rebuffed by him. This time she will not be playing on his terms.

She moved back behind her desk just to maintain some distance between them.

Klaus suddenly gave her a grim smile and said "believe me Hayley, our relationship is never going to be what it was before…." thinking of the time they were married, intentionally letting her believe that he was mentioning time before they had sex with each other.

When she remained quiet, he sighed and said "Caroline is getting married tomorrow" causing her head to jerk up, eyes widened. Klaus rolled his eyes and said "she found a way to get her ten percent in the company."

Hayley exclaimed "marriage of convenience? But that is not a good idea."

He picked up the paper weight on her desk and said casually "well it is not necessarily a bad idea either."

"And of course you talking form you personal experience?" Hayley taunted.

He looked up and staring straight into her eyes said "yes. My marriage with Eden was not all bad especially in one particular field" with a twinkle in his eyes.

Hayley turned red as it hit her what he was saying. Recalling what Kara had told her previous day, she commented "so it was all about sex?"

"No. That is not what I said. I said _especially_ … which does not imply just in that department."

"Are you saying…" she suddenly stopped as she realized that she was asking too much, for a person who shouldn't be knowing anything about their marriage.

"Are you saying what, Hayley? What are you asking?" Klaus asked still looking straight into her eyes.

Hayley said breaking the eye contact "I dont think we should be talking about your ex… late wife."

Klaus sighed with exasperation and said "yeah. I think you are right. Anyways Caroline marriage. Be ready at 11 am."

She looked at him in shock as if he has lost his mind and said incredulously "What? I am not going. I cannot imagine that Caroline.. Ms. Stantson wants me there."

"You are going to be with me. Dont worry about her. It will be a small event with just family and close friends."

"I am not family" Hayley resorted.

"hmmm'" he just said that and then to give her an incentive he said "well I need you to be with Hope since Nessa is on vacation and rest of us will be busy with the ceremony."

"Hope! Sure" as expected Hayley agreed. _Anything for Hope._ She told herself.

He started to turn but then stopped and said "you can go home early today. I have some work to finish."

"but it is only four!" She reasoned incredulously.

"I am sure I can do one day without you. Go home and rest Hayley." He stepped closer to her as he grabbed her hand

"Oh, I am sorry. Am I interrupting something?" A very familiar voice made him groan and he stepped back.

Sighing at Kara standing there staring at them with slightly widened eyes he said "no. Come in. Good night Hayley." He said to her and motioned Kara to follow him the office leaving Hayley shocked and angry.

' _Oh so that is why he is sending her away'_ she thought angrily. _'He is flirting with her but if he thinks that he can have an affair right under her nose, he is wrong. So wrong.'_ Now where did that thought come from, she thought angrily as huge waves of jealousy shot through her at seeing them disappear in his office but she shook her head and picked up her bag to leave for home.

She spend the evening watching Hope play outside and relax herself reading a book not indulging in the thoughts of Kara and Klaus cozied up in his office. To her disappointment she didn't see or hear from Klaus till next morning. Five minutes after his sudden and short stop at her front door, she was speechlessly staring at the peach dress spread on her bed. How dare he? Klaus had just invaded her sanctuary and presented her with the dress saying since it was his fault that she was unable to obtain anything to wear for the wedding, he got this for her. And had left before she could respond. She wanted to slash the dress into tiny pieces and feed it to him but it was so beautiful that she could bring herself to do so. She continued to stare at it angrily and longingly and then she headed towards her walking closet.

* * *

Klaus looked at Hope dressed in all peach, the same color of the dress he had presented to Hayley. He smiled as she twirled wobbily to enjoy the flare of her dress.

He couldn't wait to see Hayley dressed in the dress he had dropped at the guesthouse in the morning. Looking at Hope sitting on the ground he suddenly recalled his conversation with Hannah and realized that he didn't know a thing about his daughter. What he had done for her was what every parent did for their children. Nothing special. Even Mikael did that for you when you were this young. _Until he found out that you were not his!_ A voice reminded him.

At that moment Hope turned towards him and gave him a big smile and his heart broke as he realized that she was oblivious to the neglect she had faced at his hand. It was not that he didn't love her. He loved her with all his heart and would do anything for her but there was this clenching of his heart everything he was near her. Every single time he was hear her, Eden's anguish face, standing in the driveway, trying to persuade him that she was innocent, begging him to let her see Hope one last time. Why should he be allowed to spend time with their daughter when he deprived her mother to do so?

 _But none of that was Hope's fault._ That voice spoke again. _She has already lost her mother. Why should she be deprived of her mother too? Isn't that equivalent to abandoning her_? He sighed and picked up Hope who was now squatting on the ground and said "I think we should not be sitting on the ground today. If aunt Caroline sees your dress dirty …." he paused a smile appearing on his lips at the inquisitive look on his daughter's face. He shifted her on her shoulder and said "lets strap you in the car and I will go get mommy."

Hope looked at him and reiterated "mommy?"

"Oh gosh. It would be wonderful if you say that to her." A spontaneous laugh escaped his mouth as he tried to image Hayley's reaction on that. He will make up for what he did to both his daughter and her mother and … himself too. Suddenly feeling light and hopefully he walked towards the limousine and buckled her in. He then headed towards the main house and walked to the study and said "lets go Care. We are getting late."

Caroline turned towards him with a smile looking radiant in her dress. Klaus said "you look nice."

She asked teasingly "just nice?"

"very nice" Klaus said "now let's go."

"I am tense."

"Of course you are." Klaus replied.

"You are so much help" she said sarcastically as she hook her hand thought Klaus's arm. He led her to the limo and helped her sit opposite Hope and said "I will be back in a minute." Before Caroline could say anything he headed towards the guesthouse.

When the door opened he shook his head in amusement when he saw her dressed in a simple blue off shoulder dress- the bodies speckled with tiny golden beads, nipped at the waist and falling in a soft flayer to the ground, her eyes full of defiance. He said "I would have been disappointed if you had worn that dress" causing her chin to lift a bit more in defiance.

He waited for a moment and then said "you look beautiful" as she shot daggers from her eyes.

She asked "where is Hope?"

"Waiting in the car." Klaus said.

"Alright. Let's go then." She replied curtly and practically pushed him out and locked the front door, bringing her wrap around her.

When he opened the door for her she looked at him for a moment and then ignoring him, she sat down next to Caroline.

Caroline said "Hayley…" but before she could continued Klaus was opening the other door and sitting down opposite Hayley. "lets go Joseph."

Ignoring Caroline asking glance he opened his briefcase and started to look at a file. Hayley turned towards Caroline and said "congratulations Ms. Stantson. You look beautiful."

Caroline smiled but said stiffly "thank you."

Hayley looked towards Klaus but he was looking down at his file. She turned her attention towards Hope who was playing with her doll chatting with her not missing that her dress was exactly the same shade that Klaus had given her too. She looked beautiful and her heart just melted at the shy smile Hope shared with her. The rest of the drive was quiet. She sighed and started to look out only to look back again when she heard Hope say "daddy, Elsa sad."

"Why Hope?" He asked without looking towards her.

"No mommy." Hope pouted and her heart broke.

With aching heart, Klaus looked towards Hayley and caught her looking at him. He grabbed Hope's hand and said a bit awkwardly "you should make sure that she is not upset and misses her mommy."

 _See. Not bad. You can do that. You can be there for her. It does not have to be a duty._

Hayley hastily looked away not wanting him to see the tears that had suddenly gathered in her eyes not to mention what the sight of that small hand in the large hand was creating havoc in her heart.

When the car stopped, she stared at the church where she and Klaus were married and the weight in her stomach intensified.

She had her hand on the door handle when Klaus said "Hayley please take Hope with her. She is a… what is she again, Care?"

Caroline looked at him in shock mouthing "Hayley" but then said "a flower girl" as she gave the basket full of pink flowers to Hayley.

Feeling extremely emotional at the irony of what was happening- she was at the same church where she had married Klaus. She was with her family but they didnt know her. She smiled at Hope and said "sure. lets go Hope honey."

But she snuggled closer to Klaus saying "I want to go with daddy. Pesse daddy."

"Honey, daddy has to take aunt Care inside."

"Why?"

"Because normally …. well it is tradition. Father or brothers walk daughter or sister down the aisle."

"Whats aie?" Hope asked as she played with his coat buttons.

Klaus looked up and caught Hayley watching them. He said "aisle is passage between row of seats."

"What is psge?" she asked again as Klaus unbuckled her.

Klaus smiled as Hayley saw him patiently taking Hope out of her seat "the passage is the place where people walk."

"uhan." She looked down at her doll not really looking as if she understood what was told to her.

"Okay now you go with Hayley. I will be right behind you. Alright?" He kissed Hope and turned towards Hayley.

Rebekah asked in a surprised tone "what is she doing here?"

Camille asked "who?" and then noticed that Rebekah was looking towards the enteric of the church.

"Hayley Marshall."

"Isnt she a family friend?" Camille asked. "Also she is Klaus's executive assistant."

Rebekah turned towards Caroline and said in surprise "I didnt think she was a family friend and I didnt know she was Klaus's executive assistant too. When did that happen?"

"I dont know. I have only met her ever since I came back."

"Hmm" Rebekah said and then she got quiet as Hope and Hayley reached the pews opposite them and sat down there.

Hayley looked at handful of people gathered in the church with racing heart as she walked down the aisle clutching Hope's hand conscious of eyes on her, conscious of questions forming in their mind. She could feel her cheeks getting red but she just looked straight and finally reached the alter. She settled her down with her on first pew on the left side reserved for the family after slight hesitation.

And the music started playing.

She looked over her shoulder and her breathing caught as she saw Klaus walking Caroline down the aisle.

All at once she was transported to one of the miserable days of her life.

 ** _Flashback Hayley_**

 ** _25th October, 2013_**

 _She was walking down to Klaus, her father walking beside her, his fingers digging into elbow and his lips muttering 'if you step one toe out of lie Eden, you know what is at stake here then. Don't you?'_

 _"Of course I do."_

 _They reached the step. She stared at Klaus's stiffened back. Despite knowing the nature of their future relationship, the tiny flicker of hope that she had reluctantly started to nurture during the past two week started to fade when he didnt turn towards her. Her eyes met Ansel who was smiling broadly at her. And then Klaus turned and their eyes met, his face serious, annoying dripping off every inch of his body. He held out his hand for her. Hesitantly she held it and stepped towards her._

 _The priest coughed and started "We are gathered her to bind Niklaus Mikaelson and Eden Emerson in holy matrimony but before we start I want to ask if there is anyone who want to say something speak their mind or forever hold their peace."_

 _A part of her was screaming for someone to shout and stop this sham of a wedding but remembering what was at stake she just kept on staring to the front of the church._

 _The priest cleared his throat and asked "do you want to say your own vows?" Klaus curtly said "no" as he turned towards her._

 _Hayley felt her heart break for the millionth time and her already steeled heart steeled further. That tiny flicker of hope died completely._

 _She startled when she heart his curt voice "I do" and realized that the priest must have said his part of the vow. She felt him push a ring into her finger. Glancing at it one time she looked up at his annoyed face. She squared her shoulders and cleared her mind of any doubts except for Hannah's teary face when she had gone to visit her a day ago to explain why she couldnt meet her for a while._

 _"Eden Emerson, do you take Niklaus Mikaelson as your lawful husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do you part?"_

 _"I do."_

 _With cold detachment she slipped the ring on his finger._

 _"I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."_

 _For a moment she thought that he will not kiss her but then he bend down and gave her a kiss like a slap on her face. She felt chastised by him. She looked up into his face but he was not looking at her and then he muttered through clench teeth "lets go. We have to catch a flight" and practically dragged her out of the church in the midst of claps._

 ** _end flashback_**

She sighed and looked towards the priest saying the vows. Her eyes met Klaus who was staring at her.

Klaus started to feel restless as he recalled his and Eden's wedding day, how angry he was by the time vows had been said and they were husband and wife that when the priest told him that he could kiss the bride, he just touched her lips. He was not a romantic guy but seeing Caroline so happy despite this too being a marriage of convenience, the coldness of his own marriage to Eden just stood out more. _What a difference attitude towards the similar goals make?_ He thought tiredly. _Stefan seems happy despite the fact that he is not getting anything out of this wedding?_

 _Stefan does not have to produce a boy unlike you._ He reasoned with himself.

He sighed with regret when he saw them walking out of the church. His eyes clashed Hayley's glazed eyes and wondered if she was thinking about their wedding day too. He gave her a grim smile which as expected she never returned it.

Two hours later at the small reception party being held at Clexa hotel banquet hall, after Caroline and Stefan's departure to their honeymoon, ignoring speculative looks from a handful of guest at the party, she looked towards Stefan's parents having known them while she was Eden Mikaelson. His mother seemed very happy. She smiled back in response to her smile. Hope tugged at her dress. She picked her up and cuddled her in her arms absorbing the warmth of her little warm body. Hope yawned and closed her eyes. She smiled, tugging her closer to her, planted her lips at the top of her head and then looked up and caught Klaus talking on the phone with someone. His expressions were very serious. Suddenly he looked in her direction, as if he sensed her eyes on him and their eyes met for what seemed like an infinite moment. Feeling flustered and self-conscious she broke the eye contract.

Klaus disconnected the call feeling hopeful and excited, looking forward to the meeting with Alexander Dumas, the CEO of Dumas Technologies, he had been trying to get hold for the past one month. Luckily he was in town and he wanted to meet him.

He put the cell back in his coat's breast pocket. Mentally assembling the line of attack with Dumas he turned around and his gaze met Camille. Cursing, he walked towards her and said "hey Camille. How are you?"

She smiled "I am good. I got your message through Ms. Marshall."

Klaus said apologetically "yea I wanted to apologize. I need some more time to think about that proposal Camille."

Camille said smilingly "sure. Take your time. We are _not_ discussing business on a wedding."

Klaus smiled and realized that he was smiling a lot these days. He looked towards Hayley again and caught her looking towards them. Their eyes met and she looked away again and smile expanded on his lips. He said "why dont you enjoy the reception? I will go and check on Hope."

Camille turned to see in the direction he was looking and nodded "sure."

The prickling at the back of her neck told her that he was coming towards her. She shuffled in her seat causing Hope to stir. A fear that he might take Hope from her made her bring the body of their daughter closer to her.

Klaus walked towards her after shaking hands with Stefan's parents and explaining about his early departure, looked down at Hope and said "I have been called on a meeting that I had been trying to get arranged for a while."

"Oh…" she paused and then looking at hope she said hopefully "I can take her home." She then asked tentatively "you dont need me. Do you?"

"I _do_ need you." He paused for a moment letting her grasp what he was trying to say to her and seeing her cheeks flushing he smiled and then said "but I need you with Hope today. If you can take her home, that would be great. Limo is at your disposal." He said as he bend down. Hayley leaned back. Klaus smiled but he just kissed Hope on her head saying "she is so tired."

Hayley's heart melted. _Damn! How does he do that._

He looked up and caught her looking at him. "You know I know what you are afraid of Hayley. But you cannot run from me. We will have tonight."

"In your dreams."

"Always" he smiled.

Hayley taunted "tell me _Mr. Mikealson_. How does it work? You kissing me, sleeping with me and dangling Camille and Kara on your arms?"

When Klaus stared at her wordlessly, she flushed but damn if she apologizes. To her disappointment, he straightened without touching her. He ruffled Hope's hair one last time and said "lets go."

Hayley stood up with Hope and then transferred her gently in Klaus's arms when he said "let me" ignoring hers "I can take her."

She looked up after transferring Hope's body and caught him looking at her with weird expressions. "What?" she asked, flustered at her earlier outburst. She shouldnt be wearing her heart on her sleeves.

"Nothing. Lets go" he said as he started towards the exit.

After settling them in their car, he said looking straight into her eyes "Please put her to sleep. I will see you in a few hours at the house."

Klaus stood there staring at the limousine until it disappeared from his eyes. He then took out his cell and dialed Elijah's number.

"I know you are busy but I have got Alexander. You want to meet him?"

"Of course. Where?" Elijah asked.

"My office. Half an hour. Yeah I know it is short notice but I dont want to miss him which probably was his purpose for giving us such a short notice. Bring Kara too. She should know the details about the meeting too."

"I will be there." Elijah said before disconnecting.

* * *

Ten minutes later Hayley sighed and looked up from Hope coming out of the daydream she had been having of her Hope, Klaus and Hannah finally having their ever after happy life when she noticed that the car slowing down and edging towards the rough edge of the road. She leaned forwards and asked "what is going on Joseph?"

"I dont know Ms. Marshall. Let me check." He got off the car.

She looked through the screen and gasped as she saw the man hitting Joseph on the head and him falling down.

Hayley instantly unbuckled Hope from her carseat and pulled her in her lap waking her up in the process. With racing heart she looked towards the huge man striding towards the car. As he opened the car the first thing she noticed was he had a mask on his face. She asked "what is going on here?"

"Stay quiet." He hissed as he grabbed her arm and pulled her out.

Hayley knew they were in trouble so she got out with trembling legs clutching Hope tightly against her shoulder. To her dismay another masked man had joined the first one by now. Hope must have realized something was wrong as she started crying. Hayley's mind was working fast. She shushed Hope and said "wait. I need her diaper bag".

The men exchanged looks but nodded. Hayley leaned in and picked up her diaper bag quickly slipping her fancy purse inside. He grabbed Hayley by her upper arm and ushered her to the car parked on the side of the room, a few feet ahead of their limo. Opening the door he pushed Hayley inside. "If you say another word I will hurt the girl."

Hayley snuggled the scared Hope closer to her "Klaus" She called for him softly.

When the hell was her cellphone.

With wide frightened teary eyes Hope looked up at Hayley. Hayley kissed her head and whispered "everything will be okay honey. Daddy will come for us."

She looked around and looking at her diaper bag thoughtfully and then said "she needs water."

"Get it then and tell the brat to be quiet." The man hissed. She fumbled in the diaper bag, opened her purse and took the phone out wrapping her fingers around it, hiding it in the fist while with the other hand she took the sappy cup out and gave it to now sobbing and frightened Hope. Hope hiccuped but took the sippy cup from Hayley.

Bringing Hope close to her, her hand clutching around the cellphone sandwiched between her small body and her own body, she closed her eyes and by feeling around she stiltedly and by guessing started pressing the buttons. _Damn, she should have put him on speed dial._ She grumbled but continued to punch in the digits.

Hope gave her the sippy cup. Hayley groaned as she shifted in her lap. She knew if Hope got out of her lap her captors will see the cellphone so she said to her "hush baby keep sitting. Everything will be alright" while praying for the call to go through.

"Quiet."

"She is tired and hungry" but she was interrupted by the man saying angrily"quiet. And tell her to be quiet."

"She is a child. She needs to …." she stopped talking all of a sudden when she heard a voice coming from distance "hello."

* * *

Klaus glanced at his phone when it started ringing in the middle of one of the most important meetings of his life. For a moment he decided to let it go but then he took a closer look and his heart skipped a bat seeing Hayley's name. Having an idea hat she will not call him until there is an emergency with Hope. Maybe Hope was giving her a rough time. He said "excuse me" ignoring Dumas' annoyed expressions and said "hello."

* * *

She pressed her body tightly to Hope's to muffle up the voice and asked "where are you taking us? What have you done with Joseph."

The second man said, his eyes glinted and his tongue licked his lips, the only part of him that Hayley could see "Where are we taking you? That is a surprise but by the time I am done with you, you wouldnt know what hit you."

"If you touch me I am going to kill you." She shivered at his threat but said boldly while obscuring Hope's one ear by her chest and other with her other hand.

The man continued, enjoying himself "And I am going to make you daughter watch."

She lashed out furiously "Don't you dare touch her. I am going to kill you and if I am unable to do so, her father will."

* * *

In the meantime in his office Klaus had stood up as his world had turned upside down after having realized what he was hearing. He put his hand on the cell and gestured to Elijah "Elijah your phone, quickly…."

As soon as Elijah gave him his phone Klaus dialed 911 with racing heart and said "my daughter and my wife has been kidnapped."

"Slow down sir. Can you tell me in detail what is going on?" the operator asked him in a calm voice. He wanted to break her neck but he took a deep breath and said "I got a call from her a minute ago. She has somehow managed to call me on her cell phone."

"Alright mister. Where are you? Can you talk to her?"

"NO! I cannot talk to her. She ….. I think she dialed the number but cannot access to the phone. Her captors have no idea that I am on the phone with her. I.. I can hear them talking."

"Just keep the line open Mr. Mikaelson and if you get disconnected with her whatever you do, dont call her. Are you listening to me? Do. Not. Call. Her. The phone call can alert her captors of the phone and she can be in grave danger. Police will be at your location in a few minutes."

He was pacing agitatedly with both cells connected to both of his ears, hearing Hayley saying "no… don't you dare touch her." The goosebumps on his body stood up as he heard the fierceness and panic in her voice.

"Daddy" Hope's muffled voice came and then he heard a sound which felt like slap and the line went down.

"Damn!" Elijah's phone slipped from his hand and shouted in his own phone "no no no…"

"What happened?" Elijah asked anxiously.

"Someone kidnapped Hayley and Hope. Police is on the way. I need to call her." He said as he hastily dialed Hayley's number. As the first bell rang he suddenly remembered the 911 operators advice and hastily disconnected. "Oh god what was he doing?" He wondered in anguish and instead started pacing the room muttering "please call. Please call. Please dont hurt them."

* * *

In the mean time, Hayley looked down at Hope who had drifted to sleep and wondered if Klaus had gotten her call or not. She was afraid to indulge in the hope but she wanted to believe that she had heard his voice. She glanced at her wrist watch and realized that it was around three in the afternoon.

The ring tone startled almost everyone. Her heart jumped a mile up. A second of silence rang in the car and then it was a chaos.

"She has got a phone." One of them shouted and snatched Hope from Hayley, startling her awake.

Hayley shouted going crazy "no no. give her back to me."

"The phone?" One of the man shouted while Hope started to scream.

"Here. Take it. Take it. Take it. Give me my daughter back." She shouted hysterically.

The man took the phone form her and practically threw Hope at Hayley. Hayley clutched crying Hope in her arms and brushed the blood from her torn lip.

The car stopped as she shushed Hope and they were ushered out. At a glance she could see the trees and nothing else. At a distance there was a cottage. A few minute later one of her captors pushed her inside the cottage and left locking the door behind her. Hayley looked around and seeing the room empty she carried Hope to the corner and settle down keeping her in her lap. She opened the diaper bag and took out her diaper and changed her. Her heart was racing, panic settled in her. She felt so emotional that finally she got to spend some time with Hope and do something for her but she knew that for the life of her she would never want to repeat these circumstances. She knew that she couldnt break down. Hope will panic more if she breaks down. With shaking hands, she gave her a bottle of milk and settle her down in her lap and started singing to her. In a few minutes Hope went to sleep.

Hayley didnt know how long she had been sitting there, her back was hurting, her split lip was hurting. She snuggled Hope closer to her when she heard voices. She was going to die before anyone touch her daughter. She knew that. A moment or maybe be it was eternity she sighed with relief when she heard Klaus shouted "Eden."

She stammered "here."

Klaus felt relief wash over him and his leg felt so weak at her voice but he stumbled towards her voice in pitch dark and then the room lit with the flashlights and Hayley blinked her eyes to adjust them to light. He drooped on both of them engulfing them in a big hug.

"Are you okay?" He asked in a shaky voice.

"Yes." She replied in equally shaky voice.

When Hope stirred, he looked down at her and started to take her from Hayley but she clutched her harder. Klaus said soothingly but in a shaky voice "she is safe. She is safe"

"Oh" Hayley said and reluctantly loosened her grasp on Hope. He helped her up. Her every muscle and joint was hurting. With one hand on her back and the other on Hope's back he led her out. Someone moved forward and took Hope from him. Now he was holding her arm with his free hand. Hayley winced as she stepped out in light. He led her to the car and helped her inside. He slightly touched her lip, winced when she winced. He ruffled Hope's hair and said soothingly "Hey honey."

"Daddy" and she closed her eyes. Poor girl was so tired.

Hayley closed her eyes blocking all the chaos around her, her free hand grasped Hope's hand while Klaus took out his cell and dialed Rebekah's number and said without listening to her "I need to you at Haven now."

An hour later, he took out Hope from the car without making a noise not wanting to disturb Hayley. He looked around when he heard Rebekah's voice "Nik" and sighed with relief when he saw Rebekah's hurrying towards them with Elijah behind her obviously brought up to speed by him.

Klaus shifted Hope into her arms "can you please put Hope to bed?"

Rebekah muttered "of course. Do you want me to stay the night?"

"No. Just put her to bed. I will take care of Hayley."

He gently picked her up and started towards the main house.

Her eyes fluttered open and she squirmed and then realizing where they were going, she muttered "guesthouse."

He ignored her and took her inside. He took her straight to his room. After dropping the lid of toilet seat he sat her down on it, brought the medical kit out of the medical cabinet, glanced at his chalk-white reflection in the mirror for a second but then he knelt near her.

Hayley stared at his bend head with teary eyes, the image of him kneeling in front of her blurry. A tear rolled down her cheek which he gently swiped with his forefinger. With extreme gentle hands he tended to her injuries. His fingers lightly touching her old injuries but she was still in shock to register to what he was doing. Her tongue touched her lips and she winced and the reaction sat in. Her body started to shiver. Feeling the sight trembling radiating through her body Klaus cursed and got up and said harshly "sit here" and disappeared.

She got up, walked to the vanity to look at herself in the mirror, her hair were mess, her once pristine blue dress now was wrinkled and torn from hem. She washed her face and turned back started to clean up when his voice came "don't" and helped her back on the toilet seat again.

Suddenly she resisted "Where is Hope?"

"She is sleeping."

"I want to see him Niklaus." She said angrily pushing him away. Before he could stop her she had walked out of the room.

Hayley sagged with relief against the door seeing Hope fast asleep and Rebekah hovering over her.

She startled when she heard Klaus's quiet voice "Hayley"

She turned towards him feeling energy drained from her legs. But before she could crumble in a heap he had grabbed her arms.

He led her back to the room and said "why dont you take a shower?" She nodded wordlessly and was closing the door when he said "dont close the door. You are in shock."

She just nodded and stepped inside but then stopped and asked "Joseph, Klaus?"

He said "we found him. He is fine but has to spend the night in the hospital."

She acknowledged that, stripped her clothes and stood under the shower. The tears started to fall from her eyes.

* * *

Klaus said "thanks Rebekah." His body now starting to show the reaction.

"What happened Klaus?" She asked bewildered.

"I dont know Rebekah. Why dont you guys home? I will keep you up-to-date."

Elijah nodded gravely and Rebekah kissed his cheek and left Hope's room.

* * *

When he walked back into his room, she was walking out of the bathroom wrapped in his bathrobe.

Their eyes met, hers seemed swollen and red. "How did you find us?"

"Some humanitarian found Joseph bloody and hurt by the side of the road. He took him to the hospital. After regaining consciousness he contacted us. There was not much to go but the police followed that lead and …" he faltered as he recalled his helplessness at not being able to do anything. After taking a deep breath he continued "We got lucky that they didnt take out of town. I don't know why they didnt kill Joseph but we got lucky." Klaus said shakily. He wanted to wrap her in his arms for her and for himself.

With shaking hands she pushed her hair out of her face "how long were we gone?"

"I got your call at around three and we found you at eight." He continued to look at her trembling lips thoughtful and then started very carefully "Hayley…" he walked towards her, brought her to him and said "That was very brave what you did. Calling me."

He shuddered as he recalled what those people were threatening her with.

She felt warm and safe as his body warmth seeped into hers. And for the fist time she realized that he was still dressed in the suit he had worn to the wedding. _Was the wedding today?_ She couldnt believe how much had happened since then. She gently detangled herself from him even though she wanted to hang on to him. She said softly "I want to look at Hope again" not sure if she was asking permission from him.

"Sure." He said as he lead her to Hope's room.

She sighed with relief looking at sleeping Hope and then she turned to leave. Klaus stood at Hope's door watching her walk towards the stairs. He looked at her bewildered at where she was going. He took a step towards her and opened her mouth but before he could say anything she turned and said hesitantly "Klaus can I…?"

He asked still walking towards her "can you what?" His emotions just below the surface. He just wanted to hold her in his arms and never let go. He was going to lose her again today. The thought just terrified him.

"Can I stay here tonight?"

Such vulnerability was on her face that it broke his heart. He never wanted to see that look on her face again. Silently he grabbed her hand and headed towards his room.

"I just dont want to be alone" She said in a husky voice, on the verge of tears. She will not cry, she told herself. "Will you sleep with me?"

He led her to his room and started to untie the robe but she grabbed his hand. Their eyes met as she explained hurriedly "Oh I mean just lie down with me."

"I know." He said quietly and continued to untie her robes. But when she said "no" he let it go and said "okay. Everything will be alright." He leaned in and kissed her on the forehead and helped her on the bed and covered her with the blanket.

She closed her eyes as the tears leaked down her eyes. She had never laid on his bed. He had always come to her. But today he himself had helped her in his bed not aware of her true identity. A few moments later she felt him slide next to her just in boxer shorts and for some reason she felt grateful for the barrier.

Hayley must have fallen asleep in the circle of his arm because suddenly she felt soft fingers on her stomach. Her eyes snapped open and she felt his early morning erection pressing against her bottom. She nibbled her lips wondering what to do when he pressed her closer to him, his hand reaching inside her robe and fingers caressing her stomach and a moan escaped her mouth. She sighed when his lips touched the nape as he removed her hair.

She turned towards him and he dragged her under him and kissed her lips so softly making sure that he was not kissing on the injured area. His fingers dug into her still slightly wet hair just like hers through his hair. His erection was digging in her stomach. Staring into her vulnerable, sleepy eyes, he untied her robe with expert pull and disposed of his boxer shots. The moment her breast touched his naked chest he sighed with relief. His hand grabbed her thigh as his lips continued to assault her neck causing her to moan. He wanted to just sink deep into her body, with no intention of letting her go, ever. He could feel his body shivering with anticipation.

Hayley was incapable of stopping him. She wanted him. She wanted him with a desperation she was not aware she was capable of. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down, showering him with kisses too, anywhere on his head, the part of his face she could access. Her thighs parted accommodating him further, her fingers digging into his hair.

"Oh Eden…" he muttered against her lips as he slipped into her ready and accepting body. It was fast and lacked seduction. It was their basic human need. It was primal. By the time they both climaxed together, she had tears in her eyes for the loss time and what they could have lost today. She could feel trembles in his body, still attached to his. She caressed his sweaty back with soothing fingers. To hell with what happened between them, she knew at that moment that she didnt want to face an event like todays ever again. She knew at that instant that she didnt want to lose this, him and Hope. She wanted to hang on to him. She clutched her hand around him tightly.

He rolled back on his back, wrapping his arms around her, holding her tight as he closed his eyes.

Next morning when he woke up she was still snuggled close to him. He touched her spilt swollen lip gently and slowly detangled himself from her. Hayley stirred but continued to sleep. He smiled grimly at her relaxed expressions. After checking on Hope he went to the bathroom.

Klaus stared at his discarded shirt looking at the blood smeared on it wondering when did he get hurt and then he realized that it was Hayley's blood. He picked it up staring at the dried red spot. Her blood. The DNA. The thought only crossed his mind for a second before he discarded it not wanting to contemplate it. He does not need to check that. She had responded to her name when he had found her. She had responded to "Eden" when he had found her in that cottage. His whole body shook with fear when he recalled what those people were saying to her and what could have happened if Joseph had not contacted them. They had gotten lucky. If that humanitarian had not taken Joseph to the hospital he couldnt have been able to contact Klaus let alone survived and Hope and Eden wouldn't have been found. The police theory that the captors will call for ransom had not panned out. The anguish he had felt seeing that dismay on the officer Micheal's face when he had confessed about the call to Eden's phone. They got lucky that the police found them at all and that too unhurt, even if they couldnt get out of their captors. What if they had skipped town wit them? What if they had hurt her because of that call just like that 911 operator had told him? Even the thought shook him. He shivered as he remembered those long hours of search, every bad thought plaguing his mind. He was angry. He was angry at whoever had kidnapped his daughter and his wife. Could it be some business rival? He scanned his brain. Alexander Dumas… What about Emerson? He stood under the shower to wash off the fatigue off of him.

* * *

 ** _A/N: So who kidnapped Hayley and Hope?_**


	16. Defining moments - 2

**_A/N: Thanks for the wonderful reviews. It feels so nice to read reviews. We will definitely find out who kidnapped Hayley and Hope. You guys have made pretty good guess as to who kidnapped them. That is the only hint I will give :). As for Hayley realizing that he had called her Eden, no she has not realized yet coz she was in shock one time and the other she was lost in passion (evil laugh). But there will be something that did happen during the kidnapping which will be discussed in this chapter. I wonder if anyone noticed it or not._**

 ** _I hope the story is not too slow for you guys and you are not losing interest. It is almost coming to an end. Three chapter top, maybe two. So relatively a shorter chapter since I had to cut a much longer chapter into two coz I remember in one of my fanfic, people couldn't read the end part of the chapters. But I will post the second, a shorter chapter than this one over the weekend._**

 ** _Synopsis: Klaus and Hayley deal with their feelings after the kidnapping coming to realize that they cannot live like that anymore. Hayley has to revisit her kidnapping and force to release an information that can sabotage her identity._**

* * *

When Klaus stepped out of the bathroom dressed in his faded jeans and a black shirt, his hair still damped from the shower, he noticed she was still sleeping. He walked across the carpet toward her, stood at the foot of the bed and gazed at her for a while, sleeping peacefully, her hair spread on his pillow. Looking at her swollen lip, guilt and shame started at the pit of his stomach for what happened last night. He turned on his heal and walked out of the room in bare feet with the intention of keeping his distance from her, not wanting to have a repeat performance of last night and also to check on Hope.

When Hayley woke up, she continued to lay motionless for a while gazing at the ceiling and then realizing that she was not in her room, she blinked and suddenly she recalled what happened a day ago. _Hope!_ She abruptly sat up, panic settling her heart. She reached for the discarded robe. She was putting the robe on when the bedroom door opened and he walked in. Their eyes clashed. He walked to her and asked "how are you feeling?" as he sat next to her. His hand cupped her jaw, the thumb caressing the swollen lip gently.

Restraining herself from lean into his hand she said with a strained smile "I am fine. How is Hope?"

Klaus swallowed as he recalled how small Hope had looked in her bed, peaceful, the horrific incident that had happened in her life already forgotten. "She is fine. I … I just checked on her. She is still sleeping."

Hayley felt she could breath but before she could ask anything else he muttered "your eyes?"

"Oh…" Hayley gasped as she realized that she was not wearing her lens. She had taken them out after the shower and never worn them again. She realized that he must be in shock last night if he didnt notice them then. A panic gripped her but then she muttered "I wear lens. My eyesight…"

Gently tucking her stray hair behind her ear, he said "I see."

She ruffled her hair to cover the long injury on her hairline, feeling conscious of his soul searching gaze.

"Hayley, I am sorry about what happened last night."

On seeing her go blanch all of a sudden he realized how she would have taken it so he hastily continued "no, no..… I didnt mean it that way Hayley…" stopping her by pushing her back in the bed when she tried to get off the bed. "I meant I should have let your rest. You were exhausted and I was … I was selfish and …." he felt so flustered and embarrassed admitting his fault for the first time ever, that he stopped talking.

Hayley stared at Klaus slightly flushed face in surprised trying to digest if the person sitting opposite her, holding her hand so gently the same who had so ruthlessly discarded her from his life and taken everything that was important to her from her.

"Thank you Ni… Klaus." She said, feeling flustered at he almost slip.

"No." He continued fiercely while holding her hands, cursing under his breath when he realized that they were shaking "thank _you_ for what you have done for Hope yesterday. If you had not been that strong, I dont even want to think what would have happened to _her_ and …" he gulped and continued "and you. I am glad that both of you are okay."

He wanted to lean forward and kiss her, shelter her from all harm but he shouldnt. He realized that he shouldnt overwhelm her. She had suffered a lot. She must need some space, this is what he needs when he is overwhelmed so reluctantly he let go of her hand and stood up. "I will get something for you to eat."

Hayley brought her knees up to her chin, her mind wandering to last night, the passion that was released, the passion that she had thought she had lost, the changed man, the caring man.

 ** _Flashback Hayley_**

 ** _15th September, 2014_**

 _She looked down at her one day old baby covered only in her diaper, head full of brunette hair like hers, cradled in her arms, suckling at her breast, her tiny mouth vigorously working as if her life depended no it, her tiny forehead creased with frown. Her heart felt full of love for this little girl but at the same moment, she could feel a pit in her stomach. She was angry, angry at herself for feeling that way, for not even considering this possibility, angry at Niklaus for failing her. She was trapped. She was trapped for another year, for god knows how many years until she has that precious son for her father. She was trapped here. Hannah was trapped there. And Niklaus! He was trapped too in this forced marriage. Why? Why was this happening to her and then remembering her father's words of failure, a day earlier, she squeezed her eyes shut, dropped her head on her chest and started crying._

 _Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder pushing her face up. "What is going on Eden? What happened?"_

 _Her emotionally overload and disturbed brain dismissed the concern in the voice and then someone was taking the baby from her lap. She cried "No" tried to hold onto her and for the first time registered that it was Niklaus and she stopped fighting, let her daughter go. Through her blurry eyes she saw him gently putting the baby in the bassinet and covered her in the hospital supplied blanket. After staring at the baby for a second he turned back towards her. Her tears were falling freely, her vision was blurry. Still through blurry eyes she could see his eyes narrowed. Was he too angry at her for giving him a daughter? Did her father's anger at producing a girl reminded him of reality of their marriage? Had she imagined the care he had showered upon her during the past couple of months? Had she let her imagination run wild in indulging in thoughts that they can have a future together? Not anymore. He was looking angry. He was angry yesterday. Why wouldn't he be angry? He was trapped with her. Then to her dismay he said "I am sorry."_

 _"For what?" she asked, her tears still falling. 'Please dont say that you are sorry for having a daughter.' Silently she prayed._

 _"For not being here yesterday."_

 _She was so shocked that for a moment her tears stopped falling and then anger overtook her sense of failure. She wanted to flung at him that she had called him and Kara had told him that he was busy. But she knew there was no point in bringing something that cannot be fixed. He didnt want her in his life so why would he want to take her calls just like he had been doing for the past few months. But why was he acting that he wanting to be here? There was no need for pretense. She shook her head in dismay and muttered "its is okay. I didnt expect you" suppressing her cries for him just a few hours ago when she was in labor with his daughter. She so wanted him to be here. Suddenly she realized that he could see her exposed breast. Feeling flustered, depressed and shy, she covered herself and asked without looking towards him "who called you? Ansel?"_

 _"Yes."_

 _"My father is not happy." She simply stated as she recalled her father's reaction. "Thank you for yesterday."_

 _His jaws clutched and he sat down on the narrow bed and then to her shock pulled her in his lap. It was so awkward being in his arms on this narrow hospital bed but she felt safe, even if it was for a second, She felt cherished. She was feeling so vulnerable and he was there. He was holding her. Something snapped further and she started crying vigorously. He cradled her tightly said in soothing voice "Eden, I know you are upset but you need to stop crying. You will make yourself sick. You just had a baby. This much crying cannot be good for you."_

 _"A baby! Yes. A girl!" She said feeling distraught but to her surprise he abruptly placed her on the bad and stood up._

 _She looked up into his eyes through wet eyes. They were cold again. "I get it."_

 _While she was staring at him in confusion, he stood up and started pacing, his fingers running through his hair "this is about your damn money."_

 _Her jaw drop open and she started to explain but he was already saying angrily "damn it Eden! Do you think about anyone else but yourself? You are nothing but a bloody gold-digger. There are more important things than money."_

 _Before she could say anything he turned and left the room._

 ** _end flashback_**

In the meantime in the kitchen Klaus was lost in thoughts thinking about Hoep and what could have happened.

 ** _Flashback Klaus_**

 ** _15th September, 2014_**

 _When he entered the room, he was relatively calm, had controlled his anger ignited by Eden's selfish talk about money and producing a girl. Seeing it empty, for a moment his heart sank. Has she abandoned him and their daughter? He spun at his spot and noted the bathroom door. He strode towards it and tried to open it and a moment later took a sight of relief when he found it locked. He spun around once again when he heard a sigh. Acknowledging a nurse looking at the bathroom, he took a sigh of relief. She said "I told your wife not to close the door."_

 _"She is stubborn" Klaus muttered feeling elated that she had not abandon either of them. He walked towards the bassinet whereas the nurse walked to the bathroom door and knocked the door and asked "Mrs. Mikaelson, are you alright?"_

 _"yes. Give me a minute."_

 _She nodded and walked back to the bassinet, looked at the baby, smiled and said "she is beautiful."_

 _She picked the baby up and started deftly swaddling in the hospital issued standard blanket. He wanted to tell her not to wrap her in that worn blanket but he kept quiet. After placing her back in the bassinet the nurse started to fix Eden's bed while he stood near the bassist staring at his daughter marveling at the miracle he and Eden had created. She was so small that it was so difficult to comprehend that her small body was functioning just like his own- her heart was pumping blood to her body, it was thumping just like his was, she was breathing like him, she had perfect fingers and toes like him. She looked so defenseless and he wanted to protect her. The feeling was so strong that he felt overwhelmed. He was falling in love. He was falling in love for the second time in life. But he could feel that his love for his daughter was different from his love for his wife. His wife! How can Eden not love this miracle? He wondered as he recalled their conversation of fifteen minutes ago. Why couldn't Eden love him back, love their daughter? Isn't love the natural instinct in mothers? What is this hunger she has of money? Why does she want to move on from him? Looking at the baby in the bassinet he wondered if this baby will accept him with all his flaws. Ideally he fingered her forehead and she stirred in her sleep. She looked so defenseless and his heart melted. He was definitely in love. This child, his child, his and Eden's child will not abandon him and he will not abandon her. A calm that he had never known before was settling in him. This child was the reason he can live with Eden a little more until they have her precious son. Even if she was a gold-digger, he needed her. She couldn't abandon him. She cannot take his daughter away from him. He needed both of them in his life. This was his family and only his. At last he has something of his own to protect and to claim. He startled when he heard a sound and the nurse said "can you walk?"_

 _"yes thank you." Her eyes met his. She looked tired and he felt extremely angry at himself for snapping at her. He strolled towards her and held her arm from her elbow helping her to the bed. Yes he has found a hope for a family he never thought he could have. The future looked never more clear. It was now up to him to make it. Easing her in the bed, he muttered "Hope. Her name is Hope."_

 _He looked up when he noticed her going still, her eyes looked watery. He nodded feeling emotional himself too. Not wanting her to see him breaking down, he turned on his heel and left the room._

 ** _End Flashback_**

He didnt know how long he stood at the same spot thinking. She had turn out to be his hope. She was there for him and didnt abandon him. She _still was his_ hope for a future he once had envisioned, in that hospital room, a future that he himself had broken. One thing he was sure was Eden will come back to him for Hope if not for him. But he so wanted her to come for _him._ For that he will have to win her heart. With a sigh he looked towards the coffee pot and then towards his cell phone when it rang. He poured the coffee for her in the mug and absentmindedly he picked it up while setting the tray for Hayley "hey brother."

"Kol! What are you… what is going on?"

"Elijah told me what happen. I am glad Hope is alright."

"Yeah but we still not know who did that."

"Well you will find out. I assume police is on the case."

"Yeah Marcel is coming over."

"Good then. He is a good detective. I heard your assistant was with Hope too. I am happy she was not alone."

Klaus rubbed his forehead and then said "yeah yeah. She was with her."

Kol said "okay great. If you need anything you know you can call me."

He nodded and said "alright." He hesitated for a moment and then asked "should she… should she see a doctor?" and at once regretted asking but Kol just said in a matter-of-fact tone that doctors normally use "nope. Just rest."

"Okay great. Talk to you later" and disconnected.

After putting his cell back in his jeans pocket, he realized that his hands were clammy. Still shocked that he was inches away from losing both Eden and Hope, he picked up the tray and headed towards his room. He had his hand on the doorknob when a small voice whispered _"it is you. You caused this."_

He stepped back as the voice continued ' _What did you expect? Did you really expect to have you happily ever after after all? Nothing good really lasts in your life. Did you forget that? Were you so naive to think that you can have her back in your life after what you put through, despite of all wooing? Look what you have done to her too. Keep your distance from her otherwise you will affect her life too. Get a grip on your emotions and for her sake, keep your distance from her.'_ With heavy heart he opened the door and entered the room.

"What is it Hayley?" his voice brought her to present. She shook her head giving him a teary smile "nothing. Just thinking about what happened yesterday."

She didnt need to elaborate for him to understand her feelings. They both were Hope's parents and they both could have lost her. He was feeling the same way. He caressed her cheek with his the back of his fingers.

"Why dont you finish your breakfast and I will go check on Hope again?" He said feeling distraught once again as the feeling of helplessness when he had heard the captors voice and grasped what was happening engulfed him again.

Hayley looked at him retreating the room thoughtfully and then with a sigh picked up her mug of coffee and looked around once again dawning on her that this was the first time she was sitting in his room which was once supposed to be their room. Suddenly it registered to her that something was bothering her subconscious as if there was a itch she wanted to scratch. Something out of ordinary had happened last night but what? She scanned her brain but it was all a blur except for the passion that had overtaken both of them, a passion that had made them unaware of their surroundings, which had made her forget about the terrible ordeal that had happened just a few hours ago, even if it was for a few hours. She sighed when she finally concluded what it could be- she had slept with her husband again, not just slept anywhere but in his bed, the bed that was supposed to be theirs but never was

The realization just made something drop in her stomach. Her marriage flashed through her eyes and brought on a lot of pain, feeling of betrayal, shattered heart and slow murder of her broken hopes. With heavy heart, she got up, pulled the robe strings tight, barefoot she slipped out of the room. Squashing the strong urge to peek into Hope's room to prevent being spotted by Klaus, she quietly continued down the stair and left the house. Sun was out but it was very chilly so she hurried towards the guesthouse. Hastily she retrieved the spare key from under the flowerpot, unlocked the door with now freezing fingers and entered the sanctuary of her new home. She took a deep breath as she closed the door behind her and dashed towards the bathroom. Five minutes later, standing under the hot shower helped her stiff muscles to relax. She closed her eyes as she let the water wash her fatigue and depression off of her. After coming out and drying herself she changed into a comfortable pair of slacks, bundled herself in a well worn sweater, put on thick white socks, groaned as she realized that she had left her lens at Klaus. She shrugged her shoulders as she reminded herself that it was not a big deal anymore. He had bought her explanation. She brushed her hair roughly and went to the kitchen. Just to keep her hands busy she started to make another cup of coffee for herself. To her dismay what she was trying to avoid started- reaction for the last night events was starting to affect her. Her hands had started to shake and her heart was pounding against her chest. She didnt want to go to the place every again where Hope was in danger but her mind was taking her there again and again. _She could lose her._ She thought in anguish. She startled and the mug slipped from her hand when she heard the knock at the door. Having an idea it was Klaus, she reluctantly opened the door and lo and behold Klaus was standing there holding Hope.

He said incredulously "What the hell are you doing here alone? You had a terrible incidence. You cannot be alone. You didnt even finish your breakfast."

"I cannot stay there. Can I?" Ignoring everything else, she answered the only one question that she thought was relevant. She hoped that he couldn't hear the plea in her voice to be invited back in Haven. She kept her eyes fixed on Hope tucked in his arms, still dressed in her pajamas. Seeing her normal and calm brought on a strong wave of emotions that engulfed her completely bringing a lump in her throat. She wanted to hold Hope so tightly and never let her go. Her legs were shaking and she was on the verge of tears. She blinked hard and gulped to swallow the lump in her throat.

Klaus wanted to haul her into his arms seeing play of all those emotions on her face. If anything had happened to anyone of them he wouldn't have forgiven himself. If anything had happened to Hope how could he have face Eden… how could he have faced her that he was unable to protect their daughter.  
He said "Of course you can stay in the house but if you are not comfortable there then Hope and I can easily move here because one thing is sure you are not staying alone."

She looked at him in shock. Klaus's hand shook with the restraint he was having to have to not touch her, her captors threats to her ringing in his head. He said "Listen police want to talk to you about everything. Are you up for it?"

"yes" She was scared and wanted to refuse it but she nodded bravely. ' _They had to find out who did that. They had to find out who kidnapped Hope. "_ How is she doing?" gesturing towards Hope.

"She is doing fine" Klaus ruffled Hope's hair and then impulsively handed Hope to Hayley.

Hayley hesitated just for a moment and then grabbed Hope.

' _Here. This is why you should encourage your relationship with Klaus.'_ An inner voice reasoned with her.

"Cookie." Hope looked at Hayley and asked.

Hayley gave a strangled laugh and said "of course."

She carried her to the kitchen, put her on the countertop and gave her a cookie from the cookie jar.

Staring down at Hope eating her cookie she asked "How does this work Klaus?"

"What do you mean?"

"Me and you?"

Klaus cursed. ' _Damn it! He didnt want to have this discussion now.'_ But said "do I need to explain?"

"Damn it. Yes. You need to explain" her voice broke down. "O'Connell want you for his daughter. She wants you." her voice turned to whisper by the end of sentence.

"I told you that will never happen."

"So you are not going through with the deal?"

 _Was there a hope in her voice?_ he wondered. "I have not decided yet."

Hayley gasped "what if he wants you to marry his daughter?"

"We dont know yet what he wants from me. Maybe we are reading too much into it."

"But what if?"

' _Why was she pressing?'_ She thought angrily.

 _'Because you will not be a doormat this time. If he wants to have a relationship with you he has to commit.'_

 _'If? There is no if. She wanted to be part of Hope's life and she will be.'_

 _'Are you crazy? Are you going to force him into this relationship?'_

She said feeling flustered "I dont care what he has in mind but you have to choose. If you want us to go somewhere than every other bet is off?"

"I didnt see you as territorial type, Hayley" for some reason he felt excited at the concept.

"Damn it Klaus!" and then she looked towards Hope who was staring at her "sorry baby. I didnt mean that."

Klaus almost laughed despite the tension of the situation.

' _He could have that. He wanted to have that. They were a family. A strong emotion rose in him. It was within his reach. Only a matter of his decision.'_

All doubts in his mind were settled. He will have his family back but now was not the time. "I dont think this is the time to talk about our relationship. You are emotional about what happened last night. Give yourself some time to heal."

Hayley stared at him with sinking heart. ' _Something was different about him this morning. He was no the same. He was different.'_

She wanted to trust him but she was on edge and she realized that he was right. She needed to be in her element to have this discussion with him.

To change the topic he said "Nessa will be back by tomorrow, hopefully. I can ask Rebekah to take care of Hope…"

"No…" Hayley at once interrupted.

When he just looked at her she said "I can look after her." After a slight pause she asked "who did that and why?"

"You need to rest. You have been through a lot. As for who and why it was done, police will look into it." Klaus said. He held her hand and said "I will leave no stone un-turn to find out what happened, Hayley."

The atmosphere was suddenly charged with tension. The worry in his eyes was so touching for her that she wanted to reveal her identity to him. Maybe things will not be like she keeps on thinking. Maybe she can after all have her happy ever after.

Luckily Hope saved her from making a terrible mistake. When she asked "daddy pease can we go to zoo?" Hayley knew Hope will be alright. Her fear of that event having an everlasting affect was just a fear.

"not today Hope." He picked her up again and said "I will let you get ready. Detective Marcel, he is Elijah's friend. He said that he will be around in an hour."

Hayley gulped but acknowledged. He continued "get ready. I want you at home in half an hour. If you are not there, I will personally carry you there." _Why can't he tell her? Why cant he just reach out and kiss her, make her his?_ He thought in anguish.

' _Because if you start you will not stop and this is not the time to go there.'_

He turned to leave but had hardly taken a step when Hayley asked "do you want me to change her?"

Klaus said " no I can do that" and then without another word he left leaving her confused and sad at the sudden loneliness that had engulfed her.

After dressing Hope he picked her up and took out his cell to dial Rebekah's number. As soon as the call connected he said "Rebekah I need you to babysit Hope for a few hours. Police will be coming to interview Hayley. I don't want Hope to hear anything."

Rebekah replied "oh. Sure I can but Nik, will she be okay with me? I have not really babysat her before. Maybe mother…"

Klaus at once interrupted her rather harshly "no. I want you."

Rebekah said "okay I will be there. What time?"

"An hour.'

"See you then. How is she doing by the way?"

"She is okay. Both of them are okay."

Rebekah grimaced as she rung off noting his mention of "both". _Is something going on between them? W_ ondering that she went to the walking closet to change her clothes.

An hour later he looked at Hayley poised answering detective Marcel's answers. The only hint of any underlying jitteriness was the slight shaking of her hands grasped in his hand.

Detective Marcel said "anything that you can remember will be helpful."

Hayley closed her eyes. She didnt want to revisit that day ever again but she knew she had to. She tried to think of anything but nothing clicked her mind. She shook her head.

Detective Marcel said "Mr. Mikaelson do you have any idea why would someone take your wife and your daughter…."

Hayley abruptly interrupted "Oh I am not Mr. Mikealson's wife."

He frowned as he looked down at his notes but then continued "oh, sorry for the confusion. I thought… Anyways do you have any enemies Mr. Mikaelson?"

Hayley's brain was wandering at what the detective had said. Could it be a coincidence, an assumption or Klaus knows something. But looking at Klaus's somber clueless face, she knew it was a mistake. He wouldnt know about her, would he?

"Hayley?" Klaus's voice brought her to present.

She realized that she had not heard a word the detective had spoken. She asked feeling flustered "oh I am sorry. What did you ask?"

"I asked if you have any enemies."

"No of course not. I don't have any enemies. I dont know what is happening." Hayley said in confusion as she stood up and started pacing twisting her fingers.

After a few short stretches on the lush white carpet, she stopped pacing and turned towards Klaus as she remembered what her captors had said.

' _Did they know? Someone who knew about her identity and her relationship to Hope kidnapped them?_ 'She thought in panic.

' _Should she tell them? Will it comprise her identity?'_

 _'But if does not tell them then that withhold might cause the delay in capturing their captors.'_

She turned towards them and said "um I dont know if it will be helpful or not but…" twisting her fingers she continued "one of them said… he said that he will harm my _daughter_ ….but…"

Confusion started to appear on his face and detective Marcel said "but you said you are not Mrs. Mikaelson?"

"yes." She swallowed and averting her eyes from Klaus's piercing glare, she continued "why would he say that?"

Klaus groaned as he realized that they couldnt release this information to the cops as of yet but his mind too was wandering at what she revealed.

' _How many people knew that Hayley was Eden? Could Dr. Mehta have done that? Should he revealed that information to detective Marcel?'_

He stood up and too started pacing but before he could continue detective Marcel said "assumption. Just like I assumed."

Klaus turned towards them but before he couldnt give his input Hayley said with a sigh, her fingers twisting "yes. That could be it."

Her eyes went to Klaus and for a moment she felt as if they were wordlessly communing but what? What were they communing? What was he asking her?

"We should tell him." Klaus asked Hayley wordlessly. He could see confusion in her eyes and he knew she was asking him the same question but he also knew that she went to extreme length to hide her identity not just from him but also from her father. He couldn't just reveal it. He had to have a plan, discuss with her before taking any action. But he had to reveal the information if they wanted to capture those bastards. The possibility that it could be someone who knew about Eden was looking bigger by the second. He startled out of his thoughts when detective Marcel asked "do you suspect someone Mr. Mikaelson?"

"I .. yes…. James Emerson. He was my ex-wife's husband." He saw her flinch from the corner of his eyes but not looking towards her he continued "there was bad blood between him and me. Business issues." He elaborated at Detective Marcel's raised eyebrows and then continued "I have recently started a new project with a Alexander Dumas. It is still in the middle of negotiation but this call came and it fell flat as of now. I dont know the man personally."

He scribbled the information on his notepad and said "alright. I need a list of all your business partners Mr. Mikaelson. What about you Ms. Marshall?"

"I will let Kara get them to you." Klaus said whereas Hayley said "I told you. I told you I dont have any enemies" scanning her brain for anyone who would want to harm her and the only name that came in her mind was _'James Emerson.'_ but James Emerson would want to harm his daughter not Hayley Marshall. 'Could 'O Connell be behind this? For his daughter?' Damn it Hayley! When did you become so cynical?'

She startled when detective Michael asked "can you describe those guys?"

"No. They had ski masks on their faces but they were tall and bulky and white. Other than that I don't recall anything" She said as a shiver went through her when she recalled one of the men touching her face.

"Alright. I will let you go now. Thanks for everything. If you remember anything give me a call." He handed Klaus his card and stood up.

When she looked up again, detective Marcel and Klaus were not there.

When Klaus entered the living room again she was lost in thoughts. He stood there looking at her, his mind still wandering to what she had told him about their captors calling Hope as her daughter. He wanted to hold Hayley in his arms but he knew that if he did that he will not be able to control his feeling for her so he just stood there observing her until she acknowledged his presence.

Hayley said "Klaus I…" but couldn't continue. ' _How do you tell your husband that you are the late wife? How do you ask him if he suspects anything?'_

Klaus asked "what Hayley?"

"Nothing." She shook her head and then rubbing her forehead took a deep breath she said "I …where is Hope?"

"She is with Rebekah. She came and took…"

Hayley head shot up and she started hysterically, her voice rising with each word "you let her go alone with Rebekah? Are you out of your mind? Dont you remember what happened yesterday."

Klaus walked to her, grabbed her shoulders and said calmly "they are outside playing, Hayley. They have not left the premises of Haven."

Feeling flustered at her outrageous reaction, she started fumbling her fingers.

"Are you alright?" The gentleness in his voice was breaking her.

"No. Damn it. I am not. Someone kidnapped our… someone kidnapped your daughter and you are asking me if I am alright. Damn it Klaus."

Ignoring her slip of "our" he said "I am sorry Hayley. I think you should rest. Kol thinks that you should rest."

"Kol? Does he know?" She shook her head. She was not supposed to know a lot about his family. "I .. I think I should go."

"Where are you going?"

"I need to do some grocery shopping and…. I have to …yeah I need to do some grocery shopping."

"Are you out of _your_ mind? You shouldn't go anywhere today. You need to rest."

"No. What I need is to get out of here." Saying that she stormed out.

Klaus hurried after her "Hayley.. stop. Listen."

"No. let me go." She was shouting now.

He groaned as he saw Hope and Rebekah turn towards them, probably alerted by her shout. Seeing Hope running towards him he said in undertone "listen we need to talk." Damn it, he has to tell her that he knows. This cannot go on like that. She was his wife and he needed to get her back regardless of how she felt about him. She has to become his wife again for Hope, for her and even for him. He deserves some happiness after all of this. He will not be abandoned again and will not abandon her. Their daughter will not be abandoned by them ever again.

"Not today. I don't want to talk any more. I have to go. Let me go. Hope is coming. I don't want her to see anything missing."

Klaus let her go reluctantly, feeling extremely frustrated at her stubbornness and also because Hope had reached him and clung to his legs.

Rebekah said with a comforting smile "hello Ms. Marshall. I am so happy you and Hope are fine. How did the interview with Marcel's go?"

 _"Great"_ Hayley snapped and then immediately said apologetically "I am sorry, I just feel … I have to go. I am sorry Rebekah" and headed towards her car.

Klaus looked at her walking away from him, feeling helpless, confused about wanting to stop her and lock her in his room and giving her space because logical part of his brain was telling him that she needed it. _No one else knew how much she needed it except for him. They had almost lost their daughter. She was hiding her identity that must be weighing on her. She was angry at him for breaking her trust, for kicking her out of their life, for taking Hope from her. Yes she needed time. He will use that time to start his own investigation. Lucian. He will call him. He will do something. And then he needed a trusted person for Hope and Hayley's security. Yes he needed to call Lucian._

He just muttered "drive safe" and turned back toward the house missing Rebekah's speculative look as she stared at Hayley's car retreating from the iron door of Havens.

* * *

 ** _A/N: SO they are going through a lot. A lot of emotional fighting and emotional flashbacks. Hope you guys liked it._**

 ** _Next chapter will come sooner than you guys think. Promise, unless my newly crawling son does not keep me too busy :)._**


	17. Unveiling - 1

**_A/N: Alright, thanks for wonderful reviews. As promised the chapter is coming early. I hope you like it. I put my heart into this one. :) TD, we will definitely find out who kidnapped them and who photoshopped those photos. You have to wait another chapter or so. nefetari, I am glad that you like the flashback. I hope people are seeing the difference between then and now. heartfelt, Klaus and Hayley will come to an understand soon, not in this chapter though._**

 ** _Synopsis: Klaus has a set back in business and finally he and Camille come to an understanding about the project her father proposed._**

* * *

Hayley spend the next couple of hours walking the aisles of grocery store, idly picking up grocery items, her mind wandering about what was happening in her life.

' _This was never supposed to get this complicated. She was just supposed to live near Hope and be there for her while she grows up into this beautiful, brave and bold girl unlike her mother. And when she had gotten a stable job and house, hired a really really good lawyer and could have sued her father for Hannah's custody. How did her life become so complicated?'_ She wondered again, distraught by the turn of events. ' _How many more years of suffering she has to rectify the wrongs and mistakes she had made in past? She should tell him.'_ That logical part of her mind was urging her again. He will have to know sooner or later. After what happened yesterday she couldn't even think being apart Hope any longer and for that she will do anything even if it means going back to Klaus as his lover or worse.…his wife. Was detective Micheal right? Those kidnappers just assumed that they are mother daughter? Thinking about the kidnapping and how Hope has cried and clung to her, how her own self terrified of what those men might do to her or Hope, she started to tremble. She kept looking around her, glancing at people to ensure her safety. _Surely no one will attack her in a crowd?_ She was sure of this but at the same moment looking at the other shoppers, bustling around her, started to make her claustrophobic. _'Maybe it was not a good idea to come shopping after what happened yesterday.'_ She thought, panicking as she looked at the big bulky man, reminding her of her kidnapper's physique. She hastily walked towards the checkin counter, paid for her items.

' _How did she manage to do this shopping?'_ She wondered in surprise as she loaded her car. But she didnt feel like going home so after ten minutes she parked the car outside a movie theater. Maybe getting lost in a movie, in darkness where she couldnt see the happiness and calmness radiating from random people faces, she can relax. But it was all a vain attempt as her mind was still trying to process the kidnapping. ' _What if someone who knew who she was, kidnapped her? Was her father somehow involved? What about Dr. Mehta? Could he be involved. He seemed a gentle soul. She should just tell Klaus if this information will help them locate whoever had kidnapped them. What is he worst that can happen? Surely he will consider his feelings for Hayley Marshall and not take them out on Eden Mikaelson.' But he thinks Eden Mikaelsson was a gold digger. So did he think bout Hayley Marshall._ She sighed in frustration. By the time she got home she was exhausted and confused, so squashing her desire to see Hope one more time hence avoid seeing Klaus too, she went to the guest house.

She had hardly put on her clothes when she heard the pounding on the door. Sighing she went to the door and pull it open. "Klaus. I am tired. I want to sleep."

"Where the hell were you? Why were you not picking up your phone?"

She stared at his angry face, slightly take aback by his temper and then with a sigh of resignation she said "I left it in the car Klaus. I told you that I wanted to be alone."

He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration and asked angrily "where were you?"

"I was at the safe place Klaus."

"Where?" he shouted as he banged his hand on the door.

"in a movie theater." She replied, stepping back, baffled at his anger.

He took a deep breath and said "lets go."

"where?"

"You need to sleep and you cannot be alone here."

"I cannot go with you."

He said "well you are not staying here."

Hayley took a deep breath and said "Klaus I appreciate what you did for me yesterday but i want to be alone right now."

"Appreciate?" Klaus stared at her as if she has lost her mind. "Is that what you have to say after what happened yesterday?"

"Of course." She replied confounded by his obtuseness.

Klaus wanted to do something to her, shake her but he bunched up his fingers in his fist and said in a controlled, calm voice "I want you to sleep with me today."

She looked into his face and seeing the anger bubbling just under the service she decided to ignore his intentions and tried to be logical and said "I cannot. My stuff is in the guesthouse."

"Alright then I can move in." He at once said.

She asked crushing down that flicker of hope "What about Hope?"

"You have an extra bedroom. Don't you?"

"No Klaus, I dont want to disturb her. She has been already through a lot."

"You are not sleeping alone in the guesthouse Hayley." He said fiercely.

Hayley sighed with resignation "I am not. I will bring my change of clothes here and leave in the morning."

"No. You will not."

"Oh Klaus stop being stubborn." She replied agitatedly as she turned to go her things for an overnight stay and a change of clothes for the office.

"alright." He said, resigning to the situation. He will deal with things as they come along.

* * *

A few hours later, Klaus was about to ask Hayley to get hold of Alexander Dumas but then he remembered that she was still sleeping in his bed. After a long restless night tossing and turing in her old bed, the only way she could be persuaded to spend night in his house, he had given up, walked to his medicine cabinet, taken out a sleeping pill, mixed it in water, walked to her room and offered it to her "you need to sleep."

She had looked at the glass suspiciously, her eyes wild and tiredness etched on every feature of her face. She had sighed, walked to him and took the water from her and gulped it down and said "thank you Klaus."

He had scooped her in his arms and carried her to his bed, to their bed and to his relief she had not protested. He had laid awake for a long time with her body engulfed in his arms and her finally drifting in a deep sleep.

Recalling how his body had started to stir made him embarrassed. She was lost in a deep sleep and he just wanted to devour her. What kind of a man is he? He thought in anguish. Even when he had woken up, his body was hard against her gentle curves, he had wanted to wake her up and make love to her. How much effort it had taken for him to detangle himself from her to leave because he knew that if he stayed, he might have screwed up like he had one the night before.

Casting aside his restlessness and disturbed thoughts, he picked up his cell and dialed Dumas's number. After a couple of rings, he got hold of his secretary. He groaned again as he realized what was coming but said "This is Niklaus Mikaelson. I need to talk to Mr. Dumas."

"Mr. Mikaelson, he is not available."

"Where is he?"

"He has left the country for a few days."

He groaned. He was right. Dumas was avoiding him again "How can I get in touch with him?"

"I have no idea."

He cursed loudly as he threw the phone back on his desk. They had lost him. _Again!_ He thought in frustration and opened his laptop.

* * *

Hayley startled awake and realized that she was not in her room. She was in Klaus's- in their room. She looked around and grabbed her cellphone. A moment later she jumped out of bed as she realized that it was quarter past nine. Oh God! Almost ten. She was late to the office. Who turned her alarm off? She wondered as she hastily pulled on her robe and rushed to the bathroom. While taking the shower, she thought. _God what was she doing? She needed to tell him who she was. They were getting involved again. She should tell him.'_ With that came the same old fears.

 _But what if he doesnt let Hope met you if he finds out that you are Eden._ That hateful inner voice confused her once again as she clothes. As she rushed past Hope's room she paused and after slight hesitation she slightly opened it.

Seeing Nessa reading a book to Hope, she smiled. They were so engrossed in their book that she didnt disturb them and after observing them for a while, with heavy heart, she headed downstairs. ' _This should be her. She should be the one reading to Hope, cradling her, not Nessa.'_ Refusing the breakfast Joseph offered she went straight to her car.

For a few minutes she took deep breath to calm herself to relieve of the emotional upheaval, she had just suffered after seeing Hope cuddled in Nessa's lap. By the time she reached the office it was already eleven. She groaned and after putting her purse in the desk she went to his office. He looked up, gave her a strained smile and said "good morning. I trust you slept well."

"You turned my alarm off." She asked accusingly.

"I did no such thing. I just switched it to ten instead of seven." He said smartly.

"Damn it Klaus." She cursed as she ran a hand through her hair.

To her annoyance, he just smiled. "Camille will come in an hour. Send her in." He said looking down at the document. "We have a meeting with …."

"Anything else?"

He looked up, his gaze went from her perfectly blowdried hair to her black stilettos and asked "how are you feeling?"

"I am good" she said curtly and was about to leave when he said in business like tone "Compile me the data for Azure branch in New York and Mystic Falls. I want the comparison report on everything."

Hayley nodded and retreated without another word.

She had just finished the document he needed and was proofreading it when she heard Camille say "hello Ms. Marshall. How are you?"

Hayley looked up and smiled "Ms. O'Connell. I am good. How are you?"

"I am fine. Klaus is expecting me."

Refusing to entertain that spark of jealousy ignited within her, she said "you can go ahead then."

"Hey Camille. Come in." Klaus said as he stood up and greeted her.

After she had taken a seat opposite him, Klaus opened the file and after looking at it for a moment he said "yes. I want to do that. This had been my dream for so many years."

Camille said excitedly "oh Klaus. This is great. The hotel will help the economy of the island."

"There is a condition Camille."

Camille asked "what?"

"I want to know why your father has agreed to this proposal now."

Camille said in confusion "What do you mean? I think it is a wonderful idea."

The expressions on her face assured him that whatever game O'Connell was playing, she was not the part of it.

"I know. I proposed this idea to him a few years back but he refused. What changed his mind?" Klaus asked. "Ask him that and we can go ahead."

Camille stared at him in confusion but then nodded "of course."

"Let me show you out. We can have the Falcon meeting tomorrow."

Klaus glanced at Hayley's empty chair as he walked back to his office after seeing Camille to the elevator. Wondering if she was feeling alright, should she be working all day, he went to sit on his chair.

Hayley had just entered her office after taking a short break to the restroom when the door opened and Nessa smiled at her. She instantly stood up and asked urgently "Nessa! What happened? Is everything alright?" her gaze going to Hope in the stroller.

"Oh Yes. I just needed to talk to Mr. Mikaelson."

"Sure. Have a seat. I will let him know." Hayley said after gesturing Nessa and smiling down at Hope. "Hey Hope. How are you?"

"Good" She smiled as she shied back into her stroller.

Hayley smiled and turned back to her seat glad that her daughter was healthy and fine.

Klaus was pacing in his room thinking about how to get Dumas back, when he heard Hayley over the intercom. "Mr. Mikaelson, Nessa is here to see you."

It took a minute for him to register to what she had said and then his heart sank instantly realizing that Nessa had never been to his office before. Hope! He hastily said "Send her in."

A moment later Nessa walked in with Hope toeing behind her. Hope smiled at Klaus who walked around the desk and smiled back. He picked her up and swung her in the air sending her in the fit of giggles.

"Nessa?" Klaus inquired. "Please take a seat."

After she was seated, Nessa said "Mr. Mikaelson, I found out that Ms. Stantson has gotten married. Congratulations."

"Thank you." He settled down on his chair after passing Hope back to Nessa.

"Mr. Mikaeslon I have been meaning to talk to you for a long time but the circumstances were not exactly appropriate."

"What is it?" Klaus asked looking at Hope snuggling against Nessa staring back at him with those big hazel brown eyes.

"It is very difficult for me to say. For some personal reasons I will not be able to continue my employment."

Klaus asked after slight hesitation "if it is about money, surely we can manage something."

"No. No that is not it. I…" she hesitated for a moment and then continued after taking a deep breath "Mr. Mikaelson you know that I come from a very conservative family from a very small town where everyone knows about everyone right down to what they ate in the morning." she laughed feeling self-conscious. "I dont want to start any speculations"

Klaus looked at her in confusion for a moment and then his mind cleared as fog started getting off and he said "oh!"

"I am really sorry and I will miss Hope very much." She hugged Hope in such a sincere affection that Klaus had no doubt she just made a really difficult decision "I am tending my notice. I will stay and help you find a replacement and then will leave. I will appreciate if you can get a new nanny as soon as you can."

Saying that she put an envelop on the desk. "I am sorry for bringing this on on a time like this." Klaus shook his head, not knowing what to say. He couldnt force her to work with him.

"I appreciate that Nessa. Hope will miss you. Thank you for your services. I will ask Ms. Marshall to arrange for interviews. I would like you to sit in the interviews too. You know Hope better than anyone else."

Saying that he stood up, smiled at Hope as she stuck her finger in her mouth just before she walked out of the room with Nessa.

Klaus pressed the intercom button and said "Hayley come in."

When she came in he said "I want you to arrange a new live-in nanny for Hope."

Before she could stop herself she was asking "why?" Damn it. "No. Forget I asked."

Klaus said "Nessa gave her notice. I need to get a new nanny for Hope."

"Why? I mean why did she give her notice?" she asked in shock.

"For personal reasons." Klaus replied and then continued to elaborate "After father's death and with no Caroline around, she does not feel comfortable with this live in situation."

"Oh" she said and then after slight hesitation she said "if you dont mind, since this is my last week working for you, can I?"

"Can I what?" he asked in confusion.

Squeezing her eyes shut, mustering up her courage she said "I would love to be her nanny."

"No." Klaus abruptly replied. "Just arrange interviews with some suitable nannies. Nessa will be sitting in the interview."

Hayley felt utterly distraught. He didn't want her anywhere near Hope. She asked dejectedly "anything else?"

Something in her voice made him look up and he was taken aback by the sudden display of emotions on her face. He opened his mouth to say something but his cell rang. His eyes shifted from her face to his cell and he said "no. That will be all."

When she reached her seat, she plopped on it, feeling defeated. After what they have been through and them being together he still didnt want her to be with his daughter. He didn't want them to bond. Even yesterday he didn't let her change Hope's clothes. He didnt even take up her desire to spend time with her. Last couple of days changed nothing. She was still not good enough for her daughter. The only time he let her be near Hope was during Caroline's wedding because he manipulated her into going to the wedding. That was his selfish motive. He used Hope to get what he wanted for himself, a date. For some weird reason he wanted her in the wedding. If not for that he wouldn't have trusted her. He will not let her be close to Hope, just his bed. She thought in anguish.

In the mean time, Klaus stared at the closed door wondering what had gotten into her while he listen to his mother saying, sounding really upset "I want to see Hope, Niklaus. You should have told me yesterday. I cannot believe something like this happened and you didnt tell me."

"Mother, she is fine." Klaus said rubbing his forehead to relieve the tension that had started to build at hearing her voice.

Esther said forcefully "I want to see her. Bring her to see me or I will drop by at your house over the weekend."

"Alright mother. I have a meeting to attend. I … I have to go."

Saying that he rung it off.

Still confused about Hayley's sudden change in he continued to stare at the shut door speculatively and as soon as he got up to go inquire of her, it opened and Kara walked in, her face full of concern "Hello Mr. Mikaelson. I found out today. I am so sorry for what happened to Hope."

A warmth spread through him at the sincerity in her voice. She has been so good to him through the ups and down of his life. "Thank you Kara. Come sit."

"Coffee?" his hand going to the intercom.

"Oh no thank you. And in any case Ms. Marshall is not on her seat. I guess she has gone to lunch." She said smilingly as she took a seat.

Klaus said "hmm… Anyways are you enjoying your job with Elijah?"

"Yes very much but I want to come back." She replied giving him a shy smile.

Klaus said "just a few more days and then you can have it back." In a few days he will have his wife back and Kara will get her job back.

"Great." After a short pause she asked "have you had lunch?"

Turing slightly flushed at his raised eyebrows "it is just that I cleared my second last semester and I wanted to thank you for all the support you have shown me and encouraged me."

"if that is the case then sure" Klaus said smiling. He got up and flung his arms in his coat.

When he entered his office an hour later, the lunch with Kara still fresh in his mind, a smile on his lips as he recalled their conversation, her telling him about her studies, them discussing a case study she was studying, he stopped in his track as he witnessed Elijah talking to Hayley.

Elijah smiled at Hayley and said "I am happy to know that you are fine Ms. Marshall."

Hayley said feeling flustered at seeing him "thank you Mr. Mikaelson." Her mind was wandering back to her suspicion about Elijah's involvement in the sabotage of her marriage.

"I think we should drop this mister and miss. What do you say?" He smiled.

Hayley felt trapped and opened her mouth to say something when she heard Klaus say "Elijah, a minute."

Elijah said "sure' eyeing Klaus icy stare, confusingly and annoyed at being interrupted.

Hayley sucked in breath of relief as she watched Elijah disappear in his room.

"Stay away from Hayley." Klaus said without any ceremony.

"Hayley? When did you start being on first term basis with her?"

"None of your business" Klaus shot.

"Are you interested in her?" He asked staring at her.

"None of your business" Klaus reiterated.

"Is she?" Elijah asked instead.

Klaus said "Elijah leave her alone."

"Lets ask her what she wants."

"It is Eden." Klaus said before he could stop himself.

"What?" Elijah turned towards him.

"Hayley is Eden."

"Have you lost your mind?" Elijah asked.

"No." He paused for what seemed like an infinite moment and when he remained quiet, Elijah continued "you have lost…"

"I heard you the first time." Klaus said interrupting him.

"I need explanation."

"There is nothing to explain. She survived the accident."

"I dont believe you." Elijah said. "You are saying that because you know that I would never go after Eden."

"I never saw her body." He replied but before he could continue the door opened and Hayley walked in with a file.

"This came for you" and left.

"Oh my god. You are not kidding." Elijah said in shock.

"Nope" he opened the file.

And then Elijah remembered _'my daughter and my wife have been kidnapped…'_

"Oh God. How did she survive?"

"Luck." He replied still not looking up as he signed at the marked spots after scanning the document.

Finally when he was done, he looked up. At his shocked expressions, Klaus continued "you will keep this information with you until I talk to Hayley… Eden and brother, until then she is off limit."

"Niklaus" Elijah said stoically. "I am going to pretend that you never said that."

He turned and left the room.

Hayley tried to bury herself in her work but was finding it really hard and every time she found herself in Klaus's company the feeling of bleakness and hopelessness engulfed her, making it really hard for her to be in same room. Luckily he got busy in some business issue for which he didnt require her and she was left alone with her disturbing thoughts.

As the day progressed, Klaus couldnt help but notice her lost in thoughts and looking lethargic. His fear that she had come to work too soon was proving to be right. Even thinking about Saturday's ordeal made the goosebumps stood up. If anything had happened to Hope or Hayley… Eden, he wouldn't have gotten the time to redeem himself.

Finally he had had enough so he walked out of the office and asked her "how are you feeling?"

She stood up with a jerk, all the resentment that she had been nursing since morning bubbled out of her and she said angrily "just because we slept together, you dont have to shower me with favors."

Stung by her words, he just stared at her and then said in a cold voice "you should go home."

"I have work to do." She said defiantly.

"which you can finish tomorrow. Go home Hayley." He said curtly and started to turn but then stopped, took a deep breath to clam himself, turn back to face her. "I thought you might want to take an early afternoon considering…"

"What happened on Saturday! No thank you. I dont want you to hold on to my performance during my last week."

Klaus took a step towards her. Realizing his intentions she stepped back and said "I think you are right. I have not been feeling hundred percent. Going home will be good for me."

She turned away from him and missed the confused look on his face. She picked up her purse and turned off her computer. "Good night Mr. Mikaelson."

Still no reply. She cursed herself for caring and affected by him so much. She took a second to school her expressions and then turned towards him and after giving him a curt nod, she headed towards the elevator leaving Klaus bewildered by her abrupt attitude.

He stretched his arms to relieve himself of the tension that was now residing in between his shoulder permanently. Feeling relieved that he had made a good decision by sending her home, he went back into his office and dialed Elijah's number to discuss with him about Alexander Dumas. As soon as the call connected he told him the situation. Elijah said "Dumas is a tough cookie. The more you push him the more he will take for-granted. Give him some time and then get back to him."

"I have a feeling someone got to him." Klaus said.

"Who?"

"I don't know but I will find out."

The moment he put his cell down, it rang again. This time it was Lucian. He said "Klaus, I have been thinking about what you told me yesterday. We have to find out who knows about her being alive."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you see me as an idiot? I am not the best for no reason. The moment you told me to dig into Dr. Mehta's background, asked for the security detail for Hayley Marshall and Hope, the absence of the death certificate, I did my own digging and look what I found. Your wife never died."

"Lucian" he gritted his teeth.

"Oh save me the theatrics. I know you very well. Anyway we have to find out who knew she is alive otherwise it will be really hard to find a trail."

Klaus sucked his breath realizing Lucian was right. "Lucian if this news leaks I will know who did that."

"Oh come on. Give me some credit. I am professional." Lucian replied annoyingly. "Get me the names of people who knew she was alive and we will go from there." And without the ceremony of greetings he disconnected.

Klaus groaned as he realized it was time to confront Hayley… Eden. Lucian was right. He had plans to woo her before confiding in her that he knew but things changed, circumstances changed. He sighed and dialed Lucian's number again. A few bells later, he answered. Klaus said "I want you to know where is Alexander Dumas these days."

"Alright." Lucian replied and this time Klaus rung him off without any ceremony.

* * *

Later that night she was half expecting him to come over, so when the bell rang she rolled her eyes with all knowing smile as she walked towards the door.

"Mr. Mikaelson."

"So we are back to that?" Klaus asked, exasperated by her switching back to being formal with him.

She sighed and said "I think we should give each other space. I want to think before where our relationship is heading."

"Heading? I know where it is at present and where it is, it does not need space."

"I am serious Mr. Mikaelson."

He asked incredulously "you need space from me?"

When she nodded, he took a deep breath before asking "why?"

"I… things are moving really fast. Until a week ago you hated my guts and me… me too and now … You dont even trust me with your daughter!"

' _Here she has said it. Now he can make whatever he wants to make of it.'_

"I never hated you. I told you …"

Slightly disturbed by his dismissal of her accusation about Hope, she said, sardonically "Yes I remember you dont feel anything for me. Hate implies that you feel something for me."

Klaus gut twisted in his stomach. He reiterated in the same tone "I dont hate you."

"I need some space." She too reiterated keeping her voice calm despite the storm building up within her.

"Alright."

' _Thats it. Doesnt that prove the he was just bidding his time with you?'_ She asked herself in distress.

"Okay that is settled then. I have to discuss something else with you."

Before he could continue, she asked "Why was Camille visiting you today?" _Why the hell would you ask him that?_

"We had to discuss something about the project" He really didnt want to discuss Camille right now. He had other important things on his mind.

Hayley suddenly snapped "You cannot get married to Camille." A flush started to spread on her cheeks.

"Why not? You need space from me. Why shouldn't I get married to her? She does not need it." He retorted impatiently and then cursed when her face blanched.

"Because.. because…" feeling flustered she stopped talking, wringing her fingers but to his frustration, instead of elaborating on that, confirming his suspicion, she lifted her chin defiantly and asked "why are you here?"

But he just stared at her wordlessly.

She asked, getting angry again, angry at their situation, angry at Camille "I asked why are you here? I want you to leave me alone. Why cannot you do that?"

Suddenly he was at his wits end. He was not a patient man and she was trying his so he said said through clenched teeth "I have a lot of things to say to you but first thing you are going to tell me who else knows about you, _Eden._ "

In a matter of minutes she was blanching for the second time "What? What do you mean?"

He smirked as he stepped over the threshold forcing her to retreat back into the living room. He said, staring right into her panic filled eye "this is concerning our daughter so I suggest you answer me honestly," with one hand he bang the door shut while keeping the eye contact intact. _'They were going to have it out now. That was not how he had envisioned things to unfold but if that was how it was supposed to happen then so be it.'_

"you know what Klaus. You are a bastard!" before she could stop herself she retorted angrily and then she clasped a hand over her mouth in horror as his expressions become thunderous and she remembered how much he hated being called that.

She hastily retreated from him but he had grabbed her arm tightly, pulled her towards him with a jerk and was saying through clench teeth "I _am_ a bastard but what sort of a person lets their loved ones believe that they are dead?"

"Loved one?" before she could stop herself she exclaimed. She aggressively pushed him away, stepped back from him and continued derisively "You have got to be kidding me, Niklaus!"

A distant part of his mind registered that she has switched to 'Niklaus' and he wanted to shake her. No, she was not allowed to hide herself from the facade of the personality that she had shown him during their one year of marriage. That prim and proper person, only coming alive in the bed. No, he wanted this vibrant person back. The person who had stood up to him ever since she had come back in his life.

Klaus said "I dont know how I missed it. All I can think is that if I had not been convinced that you had died, I would seen you, Eden, a long time ago. Maybe my subconscious recognized you but I was convinced…" He stopped talking as he realized that he didnt even have a funeral for her. Her father hadn't cared and Ansel had just told him that it had been taken care of. He had not bothered to follow up and then it was too late. He didn't even want to think about what happened and how Ansel had handled it. Now he knew. He had to make up for a lot of his misgivings, he realized.

"My name is not Eden." She shouted, trembling now. He knew about her. Her secret was out.

He glared at her face, the panic spread to it now, and said in a calmer voice "whatever name you use, how much you change yourself, you will always be Eden."

Before she could respond it felt as if fog had started to lift from her fogged brain and for the first time she realized what was bothering her after their night together. She stared at him and muttered "

"Oh God. Last night, you called me Eden. Oh god you know." She said as if it was hitting her for the first time. "Since when? Since when have you known?"

He took a deep breath and said "I first suspected when I came back from New York and the more I thought about it, a bit of digging here and there and I knew."

Suddenly he was regretting confronting her like that. All the progress he had made with her doing the past few days seem to be all for nothing. She was sneering at him once again, that distrustful look that was starting to fade was back.

"Oh my God. It was all fake."

"Fake?" he took a step towards her.

"You lied to me. How could you lie to me? You let me believe that you wanted _me._ "

She was in shock. He could see that on her face, in her tone. Her secret was out. "I never lied to you."

"You did Niklaus. How could you say all those things to me. You lied to me. I thought you were making … you were …." It hit Hayley that she had subconsciously started using 'Niklaus' and she groaned as she realized that her brain had already fallen into the role of his wife.

"I was what? he asked savagely

"you were having _sex_ " she emphasized on it refusing to give in to his dare " _you were having sex with me, the person you claimed you wanted, not with Eden… your wife_ " ending with anger with a mixture of derision. "How could you? Have you forgotten how you felt about me"

He said softly "I have not forgotten what I feel for you, Eden.

"Stop calling me that. Eden has died. My name is Hayley." She said angrily, now that her secret was out there was no way she wanted to go back. Was there any point trying to do that? She asked herself angrily as she glared at him.

"You…."

"I what?"

When she remained quiet he said with a sigh "I never thought it will come out like this. But after what happened on Saturday, I knew we had to talk about it. I have been trying to talk to you since yesterday but first of all, the most important thing, I need to know who else knows about you? This is important Eden. The only way we can find out who kidnapped you is by finding out this information." He paused for a moment and then intentionally baiting her he continued "you do want to know who kidnapped her, don't you Eden?"

"Damn you Niklaus. It is Hayley."

"And it is Klaus." He said.

Hayley sighed. Knowing that he would let go until she gives him an answer, she finally said impatiently "no one knew about me. Dr. Mehta and Ansel knew that I… Eden Mikaelson had not died but even he didnt know about my name change. Only Ansel knew."

The jaw twitching betrayed the anger bubbling just below the surface. _So be it!_ She told herself defiantly as she lifted her chin to face his attack.

When he continued to remain quiet she asked, feeling frustration with this continuous speculative stare "anything else?"

Still no answer, she continued feeling disheartened by the second "you need to go."

He laughed humorously "I am sure you want me to go but we have a lot to discuss."

"There is nothing to discuss."

"Oh I beg to differ. There is a lot to discuss. A lot of misunderstandings to be cleared." He said in these are calm voice that was starting to unnerve her. Gone was the anger replaced by something much lethal, something she had seen him during the business negotiations in the boardrooms.

And then to her shock and his surprise she suddenly burst into laughter, turning hysterical by the second.

Klaus gritted "stop it." But she couldn't stop it.

She looked up but didnt stop laughing, in fact tears started to leak from her eyes, whether they were from shock or hysteria she was not sure but she choked out the words "Niklaus, I want you to leave."

"No." He simply said that.

The simple 'no' had the affect his 'stop it' didnt have and she stopped laughing. Wiping her eyes, she turned away from him, feeling defeating. It finally started to sink in. She was finally really backed into the corner.

 _He knew about her. What will happen now? How many choices did she have? Could she sue for Hope's custody? Everyone will find out about her and then what will happen to Hannah? Her father, he will tell her. He will destroy Hannah just like he destroyed her. Could she be cruel enough to take a father from her own daughter? Could she herself stay away from her any longer after what happened? She had decided to let go of past so why was she thinking about it again?_

 _No. She will not be a doormat again. If Niklaus wants her back then he has to earn it. No. She is not being stubborn. She is just standing up for her rights and asking for some respect. Was that too much to ask?_ She turned back towards him. He was still standing behind the sofa, his hand clenching the back of it.

She said in a choked voice "how could you do this to me Niklaus?"

"How could I?" He paused for a moment and then continued incredulously "how could I? You have been alive for two damn years and you never bothered to tell me. You left me and Hope in dark. _You and my father_. What about Hannah? Did you even wonder if Hope needed you or not?"

Hayley stared at him in disbelief, at what he was saying. She said "needed me? Of course I knew she needed me. You, you told me never to contact Hope again and if I did you will make me pay and mind I remind you that you were not exactly polite about your threats. You were so eager to throw me out of her life."

"Eden…" A dark hue of red, had started at his jawline. Regrets and guilt… that was all in his heart at that moment.

"Hayley!" she snapped.

Klaus walked around the sofa, reached her in two long strides, grabbed her wrist, lead her to the sofa and sat down despite her protesting the action. He said eagerly "listen we need to talk about what happened that night.

Hayley jumped back as if he had hit her "No. There is nothing to talk."

"Eden …"

 _"Hayley! Hayley! Hayley! My name is Hayley now._ If you cannot accept that then…"

Ignoring her outburst, he asked in anguish "do you have any idea what I went through when I saw those photos?"

"You went through? My God. Niklaus you are much an arrogant manipulative piece of shit. You actually want me to believe that you had never seen them before? If it were not for Hope I would…" She was so angry at him that she was unable to complete one full meaningful sentence. She wanted to hit him, discard him out of her life like he had done but she couldnt. She was still tied to him and their daughter. She still loved him but damn it. She didnt want to be slave to her feelings. He was the father of her child. He was influential and had the power to take her daughter away from her. Again!

"What are you talking about?" he asked, bewildered at what she was saying.

She pushed him back once again and jumped up from the sofa and sneered "I am talking about you photoshopping those pictures, Niklaus. You photoshopped those pictures…" but before she could continue he had gotten up and was holding her arm once again, his hold very tight, his fingers digging into her flesh as he asked angrily, confusion etched on his face "what the hell?"

"You. Photoshopped. Those. Photos" she reiterated, struggling to free herself from his grasp. "You and Elijah. Both of you did that to make me look incompetent mother to Hope. To get out of that hellhole of a marriage'

He felt as he has lost energy in his legs. He let go of her as he staggered back on his feet. ' _He knew that photo was photoshopped but he had never in his wildest dreams thought that she would suspect him.'_ He asked slowly "you think I am capable of that?"

"Of course you are. You wanted me out of Hope's life so badly that you didnt hesitate to stoop to that low level. Such an elaborated deception…." She was practically shouting now and then abruptly stopped talking as she noticed his still form.

Before she could school her thoughts, he was saying in an icy voice "it was not I who was found dead in another man's car. It was not me who was in another mans arms twenty four after our fight."

Hayley felt the air sucked out of her body "Jackson was a friend" averting her eyes from him.

' _Now he was getting angry, beyond angry.'_ He derided "yeah I know. A friend you ran to the first thing after fighting with your husband."

"Niklaus…."

"Klaus" he snapped. _'Damn it, it was difficult for him too.'_

She stared at him and then her shoulders sagged "this is all going no where. I want to be in Hope's life so whatever happened, what you did I want to forget it. I knew you were unhappy in this marriage but I never thought you would go to that level."

"Listen Eden, you have to trust me I would never…."

"Trust you?" She laughed sarcastically.

He said forcefully , ignoring her sarcasm "I didnt photoshop it. Yes I know it was photoshopped. Elijah figured it out soon after your death but I. Didnt. Do. It." His tone rising with each word.

When she still looked unconvinced, he felt lost. How could he convince her? As he stared into her anger face, her expression spitting hate for him, it hit him. _Why had he not thought of it before? It served her purpose to believe that he photoshopped those photos._ He sucked in his breath and muttered to himself loudly "Why didnt I think of it before?"

Hayley asked angrily "what?"

He looked up at her face and said derisively "dont pretend that you were heartbroken by what went down between us. Yes I wronged you by not trusting you but you were only too happy to get rid of me and Hope. Weren't you? You have convinced yourself that I photoshopped them to absolve yourself of abandoning your own family. I should have accepted that from a person who married someone else for money."

"What are you talking about?" Suddenly being at the receiving end of the vicious attack and the reminder of why they had gotten married, she was trembling.

Klaus asked in the same tone "Why didnt you come back to me after you go better?"

She stared at him wordlessly for a moment, shocked at his cluelessness "Are you serious? After what you did to me!" She said incredulously.

"If you wanted Hope so bad and that precious money of yours" as soon as his brain registered the words, he hesitated.

' _She would have revealed her identity for the money'_ but he shushed that doubt by telling himself. ' _She is a gold-digger opportunist, not a martyr for that cause. She wouldnt have come back to produce another child. She hated having a girl, she wouldnt have risked her return for another daughter.'_

Ignoring his conscious prickling at him, the doubt overshadowing it, he continued in the same tone "You wanted to get rid of me and Hope hence the new identity, that whole deceit. Your father put a huge condition to get that money. Whats producing one child for five million dollars?! Another child was never supposed to be in cards so you ran. You took advantage of situation and ran. You wanted to go back to that carefree life of yours with no responsibility."

He stared at her defiantly ignoring that guilt ridden voice coming from somewhere deep inside _'what are you doing? This is not the time to play these games. You want her in your life. You promised yourself that you will do anything to get her back. Hope. She needs her mother back. Eden is angry right now. You wronged her that day and she took advantage of the situation so what? You started something by not trusting her.'_

 _'Maybe she is telling the truth. Maybe she really got scared after what you told her? Is this so unlikely to believe?'_

With his mind swimming with conflicting thoughts, he cursed himself for starting something like that with her when they already were buried under a mountain of mistrusts and misunderstandings. He started "Eden…"

"It is Hayley and if you want to have any conversation dont call me Eden." She snapped "otherwise you can leave" she pointed towards the door.

When he didnt say anything she said, shaking her head "you are a piece of work, Niklaus" A dark red started to spread on his jaws once again " _You_ kicked me out of your home. You told me never to be back in your or Hope's life. And now you have arrogance to accuse me of deserting you and Hope?! "

"I am saying that I am guilty of not trusting you and taking Hope away from you."

 _'I had to give her away'_ her voice rang in his mind and he cursed "but you were happy to get your freedom too, to make use of that opportunity. How long before you decided to assume this new identity?"

"Much longer than for you to decide not to come to identify my body!" she threw back at him angrily, all of a sudden her heart was bursting with the sadness she had been nursing since the accident.

He sighed and wanted to say something but what? What could he say? There was a lot of blame to be laid on him for her to make these decisions.

"When did you decide to get your birthmark removed?"

"none of your business" Suddenly she wanted to protect herself. She was not going to tell him how heartbroken she was when he didnt show up. She was not going to tell him how she had waited every day for six months for him to make an appearance, acknowledge that she was innocent, let her hold Hope. She was not going to confess her feelings for him and how much he had hurt him. Just focus on your anger. You don't owe him any explanations. A voice kept saying in her head. He cannot absolve himself by playing this accusation game. She was close to tears. She didnt want him to see her like that. She wanted him gone. Irrationally she wanted everything to revert back to how things were even though a far away part of her mind knew sooner or later things would have come out. To her discomfort he remained quiet.

The play of emotions on her face was revealing so much. Oh how much he was wishing for the time to reverse and them to start over again.

"My father, how did you persuade him?"

"It was not difficult. He knew what a bastard you are." She said with contempt.

His fuse was about to blow but he wanted to know more. "You never had any intention of telling me about you?"

She felt her cheeks flamed but then she glared at him and said stubbornly "yes. I would never have."

Her stubbornness ignited something hot in him and he asked aggressively "So what was your brilliant plan? Why are you back? Were you thinking of living like Hayley Marshall near me, near Hope never telling us who you were. What about Hannah? Were you ever going to get in touch with your sister?"

" _Yes I was. I was. I came back for Hope._ As for you after what you did to me I vowed I wouldnt touch you with a bargepole but for Hope I was wiling to. Hope is the reason I decided to live with what you did to me and let myself be swept by you. Again!"

 _'Liar'_ A voice shouted but she continued to look towards him defiantly.

Each word was a new hole in his heart. Maybe he deserved it after everything. He muttered"for Hope?"

"Yes for Hope. I will do anything for my daughter…. and what do you care about Hannah? Do you remember what you told me about Hannah?"

Klaus sighed and said regretfully "I regret what I did but if you were in my place and my father had told you what your father told me what would you have done?"

Hayley shook her head and said in a defeated tone "you believed my father and that is why you tried to make me look incompetent mother to Hope, Niklaus."

"Eden I didnt do that. I didnt photoshop those pictures. Think about it. Why would I make my wife look a tart?"

"oh god not again." she threw up her hands in the air in frustration. "If you didnt do it then who did it?"

"I dont know." Klaus replied helplessly.

She blew an angry huff and said "you do realize that was a rhetorical question. Right?"

He was getting impatient and he was getting angry now. "I know you dont trust me but I will find out who did that."

"It has been two years Niklaus. If it were someone else you would have found out by now. Lets face it, you didnt try to even look because you know that it was you. Stop playing these dumb games with me."

"I am not playing any games with you." He was getting angrier by the second. An anger that he had thought that he had left behind. That night was flashing right before him and he was afraid that he will say something that he will regret like he had been regretting for the past two years so he took a deep breath and said "I didnt look for it because it was useless."

"Really?" She taunted and with a smirk continued "I didnt know our marriage meant so little to you. I knew that you were unhappy but even the most cold hearted person would try to find out who sabotaged their marriage."

"I didnt look into it because it was too late. You had died. There was no point…." he gritted through his teeth, his fingers curling into his fist to stop himself from smashing something.

Hayley shook her head and said "please Niklaus dont doubt my intelligence at least. Despite the circumstances that led to our marriage and afterwards, I believed that you will do right by _your_ family. Now I don't. I just cannot…. Please dont come around me. You confuse me. I just want to be with Hope. I want to be part of her life. She is my daughter too." She finished fiercely.

He said defeatedly "Of course she is. Why would you think that I wouldn't let you …."

She laughed humorously and wanted to say something but he was already saying, remembering his threats to her "I will never do that again. Trust me."

"I cannot. I cannot do that right now. Hope is my daughter and I deserve to spend time with her. She deserves her mother in her life."

"You were not that eager when she was born." The words slipped from his mouth and she blanched.

He hurriedly said "I am sorry Eden. I shouldnt have said that."

Remembering her shock at Hope's birth, her resentment, his misunderstandings, her secrets she said "No you are right. I acted badly when she was born but I have changed. You cannot keep punishing me for that."

"What do you mean by that?" he asked exaggerated. _It was not going as he had thought. Nothing was getting resolved._

"You have known about me for the past few days and that is why you have been keeping her away from me. You rejected my proposal about becoming her nanny and then you have not let me spend any time with her ever since the kidnapping. I need you to stop doing that. She is my daughter too. You have to stop punishing me for acting that way at her birth. _I am the gold-digger._ Hope is not to be punished for that."

He sighed "will you believe me if I say that I kept her away from you because I wanted _you_ to rest. You too have been through a lot because of that kidnapping. Or that after we are reunited you will be needing a nanny in any case. We will have social obligations."

"No I wouldn't have." Hayley snapped but she wanted to believe him. She realized that she wanted to believe him really really bad.

"Okay then." he said, feeling tired now. "You are right. This is getting us no where. Right now our priority should be Hope. We need to figure out who endangered her and you. Are you interested in that?"

"Of course I am." She snapped at him.

"Alright then. At least we agree on one thing."

She couldnt help but feel the sarcasm in his tone.

He said in the same defeated tone "now lets go."

"Where?"

"to the house, Eden."

"It is Hayley for the last time and I am not sleeping with you."

"I am not taking you to sleep with me but your place is on our bed."

"Our bed? You have to be kidding me Niklaus" She laughed humorlessly .

"I swear if you start laughing again, I am going to…"

"What? What are you going to do? Hit me?"

"No. Damn it." he gritted." You cannot say here alone. You have to come to the main house. and if you are not ready in five minutes, I am going to carry you."

"I am not going anywhere with you Niklaus."

"You did last night" he stated derisively.

"Last night I didnt know you were being an absolute bastard, playing the manipulation trick. No leave."

"Absolutely not." He said calmly keeping lid on his anger that was ready to burst.

She snapped "What is the matter with you? Why are you acting like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like a lunatic."

"I am getting tired Hayley. Hope is alone. If not for me then you have to come for her otherwise I will stay here too and you know how upset she can get."

"Fine but I am not sleeping in your bed." She shouted as she headed towards her room.

Klaus sighed and sat down on the sofa feeling lost as his mind tried to process what she had told him. She actually believed that _he_ had photoshopped those photos! There were more misunderstands between them than he had realized. It will take time for him to convince her, to prove his innocence, to win her heart, to complete his family.

* * *

 ** _A/N: I hope you liked it. The confrontation was really hard to write and it comprised major part of this chapter. As you can see things are still not resolved. Klaus will have to earn her trust to convince her that it was not him and Hayley will have to start trusting him at some point and decide what she wants from all this mess._**

 ** _Next chapter a few days :)_**


	18. Bridging - 1

**_A/N: Thanks for the wonderful review. Introducing a new character here. Will have a small role to play in the story. I hope you like her and her story._**

 ** _Synopsis: Klaus continues his search for Dumas. Camille gets to the bottom of her father's mission. Hayley and Klaus try to resolve their confusions from their past in order to bridge their past, present and future._**

* * *

While Hayley was changing her clothes, she wondered if Klaus was right. _Did she really take advantage of situation and ran? Could she have abandoned Hope? No. She couldnt._ She fiercely shook her head as she packed an overnight back with a change of clothes for the morning and other necessities and came out of the room. She stopped in her track when she saw him sitting lost in thoughts, on the sofa.

She continued to look at the forlorn expressions on his face for a while and then clearing her that she said "I am ready but I am not sleeping in your bed Niklaus."

"If you want be called Hayley, then you have to stick to Klaus too. Two way street Eden." He got up, walked over to her, took her bag from her hand and said rather aggressively. She was changed. At first he had thought that it was all a part of her identity change ruse but no, she had changed. There was a fire in her now, the fire that was just confined to their bed previously and he liked it. He was in deep trouble. If he had thought that he loved his wife before, this new and revised version was trouble with capital T.

Ten minutes later, he followed her into the main house and led her to his… their room but she stopped and said "no. I said I will not sleep with you. I want my old room back."

He sighed and said "we are not going back to that arrangement Eden… damn it okay Hayley…" seeing the flash of resentment in her eyes he snapped.

"Do you want me to leave?" She asked defiantly.

No, he didnt want her to leave. He wanted to put her on his knees and show her the consequences of her defiance but he was not going to do that. He could see that she would leave. He could persuade her. He knew he could but that had to be her choice. At that moment he knew that even though he was going to make up for what he did but she has to take some steps too. He said, choosing his words carefully "okay. No. I dont you want to leave. I will not force you into our room. Yes _our_ room." He continued seeing the defiance in her eyes "you will come to me yourself."

For a moment Hayley felt hesitant, an unknown fear as if something was slipping from her grasp gripped her once again but she said "I want to see Hope."

"She must be sleeping by now" Klaus pointed towards Hope's room.

Hayley glanced at him and then taking her bag from his hand, she went to put her overnight bag on the bed in her old room. A moment later she was back and went into Hope's room through the partially opened door.

As Hayley sat by the bed, Klaus spun around when he heard another door open and a moment later Nessa walked in dressed in her dressing robes.

"It is alright." He said. "I am going to turn off the baby monitor for a while. Will switch it back after some time."

Nessa replied, the panic receding from her face "sure," her eyes darting to Hayley sitting next to Hope, confusion replaced the panic but she nodded and left.

Hayley noticed him turning off the baby monitor placed near Hope's bed and said "you can go to sleep. I just want to sit with her for a while. I will turn it back on before leaving."

He stood there looking at her gazing at Hope with such longing that his heart broke for both of them. _'When did she change her mind about their daughter?'_ he wondered as he recalled her reaction at Hope's birth followed by that deep depression at not fulfilling her father's demand.

"She is beautiful." Hayley muttered, her fingers gently brushing Hope's hair.

He nodded silently, turned and left, giving her time with their daughter. He needed to process what she had revealed. With so many confusions and with no place for forgiveness, it was going to take some sort of miracle to get their lives in order.

She just sat at the edge of Hope's bed, looking down at her hugging her bear. She didnt want to get up. She was not a violent person but at that moment she just wanted to hit Klaus, lash at him for making her miss so many of such nights. She had missed so many nights wanting to do that. Finally she got up and after switching the baby monitor back on retreated from the room While lying on her bed, it finally started to sink in, really sink in. Her secret was out. Such a huge event had happened, how could she be so normal? Maybe you were hoping for it to happen. It felt weird lying in her own bed when in fact she was here just last night but today she was back as Mrs. Klaus Mikaleson. He knew about her. She was in her home. How can they both live under the same room once again? Ansel! O God, where was he when she needed him?

Hayley startled when she heard the door connecting their room being knocked. She got out of her bed, put her robes on, walked towards it and opened it for him.

Taking a deep breath, feeling exhausted after their confrontation and emotional journey while sitting with hope, angry at Klaus, she said "Klaus I think we have been through enough of confrontation for tonight. I need to process things. I am sure you need it too. Please give both of us some time."

"I will. I just wanted to say…."

 _Was that guilt on his face?_ She wondered as she saw him struggle with words.

He paused for a moment before continuing "I know you dont believe me about those pictures and I dont blame you. If I were in your position I wouldnt believe me either considering the sort of relationship we had… I am not going to even try that…" He continued seeing her raised eyebrows "again tonight. Right now I wanted to say that I shouldn't have taken Hope away from you. I shouldn't have threatened you the way I did that night."

' _Was that an actual apology?'_ She wondered in shock but then to her shame she realized that she wanted more. She wanted to make him feel more guilty for what he had done. She said defiantly. "You cannot give her and me back those lost years Klaus, lost milestones" Her mind conjuring up images of Hope's walking, crawling and having her first teeth.

"Yes I cannot but I can make up for it."

"How? How will you do that?" No, she will not let him off the hook so easily. She told herself defiantly when an inner voice told him that he was regretting and is guilty. She should forgive him.

"I …. I dont know but I will." he raised his hand in helpless gesture and then let them drop.

She said shaking her head in dismay "you had no right. After everything, after missing her birth."

"I know! I wish I had been." Regrets. That was all he had left.

She said impatiently refusing to take pity on him, refusing to acknowledge the dejection on his face "I dont know why I even said that. I didnt even expect you there Nikl… Klaus."

' _Why was she sparring his feelings? He didnt deserve it. He…'_

"You told me that day too." It had hurt him than too. He wanted her to expect him there. "But you could have called me when you went into labor." It felt strange talking to her about such intimate things after such a long time. Even though they had shared much intimacy since then. This was very personal. She was mother of their child. They made something special but the distance between them still remained.

She stared at him open mouth and then gritted angrily _"I did."_

Klaus retorted in confusion "what are you talking about? You never called."

"Oh Klaus please stop lying. I called you. I talked to Kara myself. I told her that I was in labor. She told me that she will give my message to you but you never called back. What was I supposed to do. Call again?"

Klaus clearly remembered that day. He had just inaugurated the hotel in New York and things were really busy. It was the most important day of his life and he wanted everything to go smoothly. Had been working for that moment for a long time. He wanted to be there to make the things smooth when Ansel's call had come. He had hopped on the first flight he got and reached at the hospital. He remembered the hours of waiting in air, anxiety of what might happens since Hope was three weeks early. And when he had reached her finally, he was late.

He said "I never got your message. Kara would have given me your message Hayley."

"You think I am lying?" She asked incredulously when at the same time she started to remember all those times when Kara was screening her calls.

"I didnt say that." He immediately said, defensively, not wanted to start something again but why was she lying. For the sake of harmony, even if it came in minute quantity he said "I remember we had a really busy day that day. We had just opened that hotel in New York. She was doing all kinds of things for me. Maybe it slipped her mind."

 _'Sure it slipped her mind. All my messages and phone calls slipped her mind,'_ she thought bitterly.

When she looked unconvinced, he asked "Do you really think if I had gotten your message I wouldn't have come?"

"What was I supposed to think Klaus? You never wanted a child. Remember?"

Yes he remembered. He clearly remembered all those times he had told her that he didnt want to become a father and all those times when he didnt tell her how much he wanted to hold their child, how he was hoping for it to be a girl so that she would stay with him for a while longer. He muttered "I dont know what to say. There are so many things I wish I could do differently" and turned away from her.

Hayley wanted to believe him, believe that he had changed. He wanted to give their marriage a chance but suddenly she was hesitating. Feeling utterly depressed, she shut the door and headed back to the bed.

* * *

In the mean time Camille was pacing her hotel room, thinking about what Klaus had asked from her. After giving it a thought for a few more moments, she dialed her father's cell number. As the call connected she smiled "hello daddy."

O'Connell smiled and said "Cami, how are you?"

"I am good daddy. Daddy I have something to ask you."

"What is it?"

She took a breath before asking "daddy, why did you offer Klaus that island deal?"

"What are you saying?"

"Daddy Klaus told me that he suggested that project a couple of years ago?"

"Yes he did" her father replied.

Her breathing caught in her chest. She asked cautiously "why have you agreed to it now?"

"I just thought it was a good time to …"

"Is that the only reason?" She asked hopefully.

"Of course."

Camille stared at the wall opposite her getting a bit suspicious at her father hesitant okay. After slight hesitation of her own, she asked "did you by any chance hope that Klaus and I will end up together?"

Quiet on the other end of the phone made her gasp. "Daddy you didnt!"

"I hoped Camille." O'Connell said defensively.

"O Daddy!" Camille said in anguish.

"What is the harm darling? I just hoped that working together with him might bring both of you together."

"If that is the case then why did you not limit it to Utopia?"

"Just an extra thing where you both will get to spend more time together."

"I don't want him to be coerced into any relationship daddy." She started angrily. "I … I want you to listen to me. Klaus wants to do this project but I think he will not go through with it because he suspects you are up to something. You have to remember that he had already been through such a deal. He will never want to tie himself down with another one like that."

Her father sighed and said "okay. What do you want me to do?"

"I dont want you to expect anything out of his deal except for the hotel."

"Okay. Anything else?

"No" She sighed sagging on the bed "What is Shawn up to these days?"

Her father was talking about Shawn but she was too shattered by her father's intention so she said, interrupting him "daddy, I am tired. Can I call you tomorrow?"

"Of course Camille. And I am sorry if you are upset with my methods but all I wanted was to see you happy."

"It is alright daddy. Please dont do that again. Good night. I love you."

"Good night Cami."

She fell on the bed and let her tears fell.

* * *

In Haven, Hayley was unable to sleep throughout the night, so she took a shower and change her clothes way before her alarm went off. Turning off the alarm she gathered her stuff and headed out, thinking maybe office will help. She needed distraction. There were a lot of things to process. He was lying. She was sure he would do anything to prove his innocence. And the sad thing was that after hours of thinking she wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe that he didnt photoshop those photos, he was sorry about taking Hope from her, for kicking her out of their home. She needed to create distance between them. After peeking in Hope's room for a fraction of a minute, she saw her still sleeping, so she went downstairs.

She startled when she heard "good morning Ms. Marshall."

Hayley asked excitedly "Joseph! How are you? I am so sorry for what happened and I didnt even visit you."

He gave her his polite smile and said "It is alright Ms. Marshall. I hope you and Ms. Mikaelson are doing fine."

"Yes. Thank you."

"Mr. Mikaelson is in the dinning room."

"He is up" she asked and then wished she could bit her tongue. Joseph bowed slightly, another deja vu, and left.

Hayley took a deep breath and walked towards the dinning room. They couldnt keep on avoiding each other.

"Klaus."

Klaus spun towards her and said "good morning. Come, have breakfast."

"Klaus, I think I should be going to office."

"Hayley, come have breakfast with me" he was now talking in his boardroom voice "there is something important I need to discuss with you."

"I told you that I need space."

"I know but we cannot afford that."

"What are you talking about?"

"We never used any protection unless… there is something that you want to share?" Even thinking that she was with someone else twisted his gut but he didnt even want to entertain the thought. She knew she was married. She will not cheat. It is a miracle that you lasted this long without sleeping with anyone. He shuddered at the thought if he had.

"What are you talking about? I have not had my coffee yet."

He tilted his head, his lips pursed as he studied her.

"Oh my god" Understanding dawned on her and her hand went to her mouth at the same time she felt a drop in her stomach.

"We have to get together, officially, before the news leaks."

"There is no news" she snapped "and I am not getting back together with you."

' _What was going on with her? Her secret was out. She had a lots to lose. This, them getting back together might be the only way to right the wrong.'_ She wondered.

"What are you talking about?" he stepped closer to her.

"No one can know I am alive."

"Too late for that. Elijah and Lucian knows."

"What? Who is Lucian?"

"A PI and my oldest friend. I can trust him."

"Niklaus…

"Klaus…"

I cannot .. my father cannot know that I am alive."

"Because he will force you to have a grandson for him. I thought you would be happy about that… You can finally…." Something in her eyes flashed and he stopped just before saying the words that had the potential in ruining their relationship further despite the truth to them.

Hayley said "no."

"You have to be specific about it" he said coldly "what are you saying no to?"

Hayley sighed and said "Klaus, a lot has changed during the past two years. I am not that person anymore. I … I dont want anyone to now that person is alive anymore. I just want to be Hope's mother right now."

 _'and hope that you will fall in love with me soon and stop lying to me'_ she wished to herself silently.

"If you are pregnant we are getting together and you will be my wife once again in every sense of the way."

"I am not going to be Eden ever again."

"Then we get married again…." He said without any hesitation "but no child of mine will be born…"

"to a drug addict…"

He gritted his teeth "will be born out of wedlock… wedlock to the world. You are my wife…." he stopped talking when he caught a motion out of corner of his left eye. His head snapped towards it but there was no one.

"Damn it. We cannot talk here. Too many ears. Lets talk it over the lunch today."

Saying that he turned and left. She looked at his untouched breakfast and coffee, sighed in frustration, picked up the apple and too headed out. _Office. She needed distraction._ The seed he had planted in her mind was too much on top of averaging happening. If she was then she will have to marry him again. She knew that. He would never let any child of his born under the stigma of what he went through all his life. If she wanted to hide her identity that was the only way.

An hour later, Klaus looked up when the door opened and she walked in with a cup of coffee. He inclined his head in acknowledgment of her presence as she placed his coffee cup on the desk. He picked up his coffee cup and strolled to the window.

Hayley stared at his back. She could see that he was annoyed with her but so was she so cleared her throat and asked "you want me to tell you your schedule now or should I come later?"

"Now is fine." He said without turning towards her.

Hayley gritted her teeth and proceeded to tell him about his schedule.

After she was done, he turned towards her but didnt say anything.

Taking her cue, she got up and started to leave when he said "Hayley, get me Alexander Dumas. He is the CEO of Cyclone Technologies."

She gritted her teeth at being addressed by her name. She turned back towards him and said in annoyance propelled by his aloofness "Mr. Mikaelson, I think it is highly unprofessional for you to address me by my name in the office." She could hear her demand highly ridiculous since it was just two of them together right now but she just stared at him defiantly.

He leaned back against the windowsill, the tension in his shoulder was mounting to a level that he knew he would burst. " _Ms. Marshall_ , I need that comparison report I asked you yesterday."

She winced at his curt tone, gave him a small nod and retreated from the room. This is what you wanted so why is it bothering you now?

Half an hour later, he was going through the comparison report, making notes, mentally streamlining the way to approach the project if he got it. He wanted to do something different with this project. He closed his eyes as he pondered through the variety of ideas popping in his mind want to make this hotel different from the other Azure hotels.

When Hayley informed him in slightly shaky voice that James Emerson wanted to talk to him, he was a bit taken aback. A part of himself wanted to tell her to handle it but having no desire to subject her to any sort of cruelty from her father, he said "patch me through."

A moment later he heard the angry voice of his father-in-law "You bastard. You think I would try to hurt your daughter…. a child of a whore…"

Klaus tighten the hold on his phone and said "if you say one more word about my daughter or wife, you will regret it."

"not as much as you are going to Mikaelson" Came an angry resort.

"good day Emerson" and disconnected.

He stood up and then pressed the intercom and said curtly "come in."

Hayley was still reeling with the shock of receiving a call from her father. Despite her narrowly escaping the encounter with him, a familiar dread had already settled in her stomach so when Klaus called her in his office she knew it would be regarding the call. With dread in her stomach, when she entered his office, he was pacing the room, looking annoyed. He turned towards her, studied her for a moment and then strolled across the carpet to her. She stepped back which he ignored and continued to close the distance between them. He held her hand and asked "are you okay?"

Ignoring the tightening in her stomach which she knew had nothing to do with her father's call but everything to do with his fingers infusing the warmth into her cold hands "Why did he call? Are you in business with him?"

"No." He snapped and then toning down he continued "He was contacting me to give me his piece of mind because the police dared to question him."

"Oh." Hayley said, relief settling instead of dread. "So he was not involved." She muttered, gently snatching her hand from his grasp.

"At least that is what he wants me to believe that." Klaus said, still studying her. "You suspect him?"

"I … I dont know. Maybe to hurt you?" She said, twisting her fingers. She paused for a moment and then asked, pleaded "Is she safe?"

"Yes she is. I have security for you and her now. Don't worry." Klaus said fiercely

"oh. Klaus if something happens to her, I will .. I dont know what I will do." She said in anguish dropping all stances. This was about Hope not about her or him.

"Nothing will happen to her. Dont worry about your father? He is out of our lives. He does not know you are alive. Dont give him this power over yourself." He reassured her and then to distract her he said "I want you to hold all my calls."

"All of them?" She asked taking the cue but the doubt were still reflecting from her eyes.

"Yes. Hold _all my call_. I have some business to take care of and I dont want any interruption.

Also I want a meeting with team handling Utopia today"

When she nodded absentmindedly, he picked up her hand once again, felt her stiffening but ignoring it, he took it to his mouth and planted a gentle kiss to her fingers and said "nothing will harm Hope. I promise."

She nodded, tucked her hand back and turned to leave. With her hand on the door handle, she turned back, noticed him writing something on the paper, said "O and I couldnt get hold of Alexander Dumas. His secretary is very tight lipped about his whereabouts."

Klaus threw the pen on the desk and said sarcastically "great!"

Hayley flinched but left. He raked his fingers through his hair as he tried to get his thoughts in order. Emerson's call had shaken both him and Hayley. But for some reason he believed Emerson but he was going to let police follow up their lead. He needed to concentrate on his business. He had been postponing a lot of things. The possibility of desolation of Utopia was become greater by the second. O'Connell might back out of Utopia if he backs out of island project.

After Hayley informed him about the meeting with Utopia team later that day, he felt somewhat in control of things. He welcomed the couple of conference calls over the internet with the teams in London and China. Around lunch time when he pressed intercom button and it went unattended, he got up and walked out of the office. Seeing her empty chair he wanted to smash his hand through the wall but giving her benefit of doubt he walked to the desk and his gaze fell on the note. He picked up the note that he knew was meant to be for him. 'Going out on lunch.'

He crumbled the note in his fist and an instant smile on her defiance appeared on his lips. He was going to have a harder time winning her back than he had thought. He sighed as he turned back to his office.

* * *

Hayley was unable to eat anything. She had come on the lunch alone on impulse, to get away from Klaus but now she was regretting it. Klaus was right, they had a lot to talk, not about the past necessarily but about future too and if he is right and she is pregnant, her hand went to her flat stomach. If she was in fact pregnant then they had lots more to discuss. She couldn't disclose her identity. Her father! He could never know about her.

Finally giving up on finishing her lunch, she paid for it and got up to leave. At the door, she took out her wallet to see if she had put her credit card back, her mind was not there completely when she felt a jerk and her wallet slipped from her hand. She bend down to pick it up and muttered "oh. Excuse me."

 ** _"_** _Eden!"_ Hayley jerked in the direction of the voice and then realized what she had done. Multiple things happened at the same time. She realized what she had done and someone had recognized her. She hastily looked around to see if she knew someone who was acquainted to her.

She sighed seeing no one near her and said "umm I am sorry. I think you are mistaking me for someone else."

"Eden, this is me. Gia."

"I am sorry. I have to leave" She said and left without another word.

* * *

Gia was staring at Hayley's abrupt departure when she heard someone ask "excuse me. Do you know that woman?"

"That is Eden. We grew up together."

"I think you are mistaken. Eden Emerson died a few years ago."

"Oh.. How?"

"accident."

"I could have sworn that was Eden." She said in confusion.

She asked "I am sorry I didnt catch your name."

"Gia.. Gia Thomas."

"Oh."

"And you are?"

"Kara. Kara Steven. We both work in the same company."

"Hmmm" Gia said thoughtfully. Her gaze still looking at where Hayley had disappeared.

* * *

After reaching the office, she hurriedly put her bag in the desk drawer. For the first time in past eighteen months, she was on the verge of her secret being ousted. She darted to Klaus's room and opened it without even thinking about knocking, without even thinking. Period.

"Klaus, someone recognized me today." Hayley said without any ceremony.

Klaus turned towards her and registered the panic on her face. Putting aside his own anger at her, he said "calm down. What is going on?"

And Hayley suddenly realized that she had just leaned on Klaus- something she had not done even during their marriage. Feeling disgusted with herself for doing this, leaning on the person who deceived her, she shook her head and started to turn but he was already crossing the room and had reached her in a handful of strides. He palmed the door shut, turned her towards him and asked "what is going on?"

"Nothing."

"Cut it out Hayley. Now is not the time to revert back to this newly discovered I-dont-need-anyone attitude, not that I mind but when it concerns _our_ family, you should share."

Hayley huffed but instead of reeling on him, she told him about her encounter with Gia.

"And who is this Gia?"

"I met her in New York. She has a son who is… who was my sister's age. We became friends, my sister and her son used to play together. But …but then we we fell apart."

"Do you trust her?"

"I… I dont trust anyone Klaus." She said, lifting her chin defiantly.

He said "so what do you want to do? Kill her?" ending with sarcasm.

She gritted her teeth, feeling embarrassed that she had come running to him at the first sign of trouble "Very funny. No. I just wanted to tell you that she recognized me."

When he stayed quiet and just shrugged his shoulders, she started to lose her temper.

"Why are you taking it so casually?" she gritted. "If my father finds out… do you have any idea what he is going to do?"

"There is nothing your father can do now to harm you. The contract we drafted at the time of wedding is nullified now."

"What do you mean?" She asked, thrown off for a moment.

"The company. I own all the shares now. After your… you know that accident… I worked day and night to get him voted out from board of directors." 'It is what kept me going.' Whispering the last few words to himself.

"Oh."

"So, see there is nothing to worry about."

"I still cannot tell him Klaus."

"Why? Because of the money…? He abruptly stood up and asked aggressively.

"No…." She shouted at him. She didnt to discuss her motives of their marriage so she asked, noticing his taunt expressions, in the hopes of diverting him from dwelling into her motives "tell me, what is troubling you?"

"Me? Oh nothing! Just that my dead wife is back and she is hell bend on not believing me, The project I have been chasing for the past half decade, I am about to lose because I dont want it to be some sort of underhand deal, O and the company I finally was going to acquire, the owner had disappeared which makes me wonder if I have lost the company too. Yeah there is nothing troubling me" ending with sarcasm, agitatedly pacing the carpet, throwing his hands in the air in frustration..

Hayley looked at him in surprise never recalling a single moment when he had lost it. She sighed once again and putting aside her own grievances she asked "what can I do to help?"

"You can listen to me." Klaus replied earnestly as he turned towards her.

"Klaus" Hayley exclaimed exasperated.

He said impatiently "I understand that you dont believe me and why should you? What I did unknowingly…" he stopped talking when he noticed her rolling her eyes. "Damn it, Eden."

"No. It is Hayley and I am not here to talk about our past. I…."

He interrupted her by saying coldly "Eden, have you given a thought on the possibility of what we discussed this morning?"

She looked at him for a moment without saying anything but then she nodded.

He asked "are there any chances of that happening?"

"I…. I am not sure. After the accident and those medicines, I have not been regular. I often miss…" _Why is she being embarrassed? They were… are husband and wife after all._ She started to turn when he said softly "I am sorry for what happened to you and I… I was not there for you."

She looked back at him and said "No. Please Niklaus… Klaus… Dont do this to me. I am really confused. Until last week I was willing to give us a chance for Hope's sake but now suddenly things have taken a turn where I am not sure anymore. I … I cannot forget it. You betrayed our vows Klaus. You broke my trust."

He gritted "I didnt do it Eden. Okay I did break your trust by not trusting you but I didnt photoshop those pictures."

She asked sarcastically "And let me guess you were also heartbroken when I died."

 _"Niklaus living at home, sheltered by your mother is making you weak. It is time for you to grow up. That is why I have selected this excellent boarding school for you. You will grow up to be a strong man. A man does not cry. A man is never vulnerable. No one will think of you highly if you bare yourself to them."_

Mikael's once tough, life building advice made him clamp his mouth shut. From life long experiences he had learned not to reveal his vulnerability to anyone. Never ever. At that moment he knew that he wouldnt ever tell her about what happened to him in the intervening months of her accident. He has to guard himself from her. She will abandon him if she realizes that he is weak just like Mikael had done. He couldnt lay himself bare to her. Other than this, he would do anything to win her back.

He opened his mouth to say something, anything other than show his weakness but his cell was ringing. He cursed "damn it."

"I gather these calls are not interruptive." She said sarcastically.

He gritted "I am expecting a personal call" He _was_ expecting a call from Lucian after all which, despite her knowing about him, he didnt want to go through Hayley.

"Of course" She said.

Something on her expressions made him ask "why are you saying it like that?"

"oh nothing Klaus. Attend your call. It must be important. You should attend it."

Klaus sighed staring at the closed door. Part of him wanted to go after her and finish their unfinished conversation but he suppressed the desire and picked up his still ringing cell.

He winced when he heard Elijah's clip tone "Niklaus"

"What?" Klaus asked impatiently.

Elijah said "Any information on Dumas. Father is really upset that we lost him."

Klaus cursed Dumas silently before saying "Not yet. Lucian is looking for him."

"Tell me as soon as you get the information. We have to get him back. Also mother wants to meet you but I thought that it might not be a good idea with everything going on with Eden."

"Yeah you were right. I have a lot going on, Elijah."

"Have you talked to her? Did you tell her that photos were photoshopped?" Elijah asked.

"Yes. We … we have much to discuss." Klaus said with a sigh.

"I understand that brother. If you think it would help, I can talk to Eden."

"She does not want to be called by that name any more." Suddenly he wanted to confide in Elijah about how much cornered he was feeling. Maybe he could have gotten an advice from him. What was he thinking? He stood up in frustration. He didn't trust people. He didnt … but Elijah. This is Elijah. He told himself.

"No Elijah, I am working on it. I have some business to attend to. Will call you as soon as I get some information." Saying that he disconnected.

Later in the evening Klaus rubbed his fingers at the nape of his neck listening to Steve Johnson, updating him about what he had been doing with project, the design he had made on the requirement he had give him. His gaze went to Camille. The lack of her natural sunniness and avoidance of the eye contact with him except for the initial greetings had alerted him that something important had happened. She was quiet throughout the belief but attentive. The team handling the project from Falcon industry side was interchanging their idea when his eyes Hayley's. She broke the contact immediately to his slight disappointment.

Fascinated by the project and the design Hayley asked "what about earthquakes and tsunami? What are you going to do about it, after all they are underwater buildings?"

Klaus leaned back curious about how Steven was handling that particular problem.

Steve said "ummm yes earthquakes are always a major concern when designing these sort of buildings. Since this one is underwater, we will be catering for marine whirlpools … ummmm" seeing the confusion on Hayley's face he grabbed a paper and started to sketch lines on it "see in an ocean, rive or lakes when opposing current or tide like these meet, a whirlpool is created. It can be caused by action of wind upon the water and some irregularities in the bottom of the body of water. So any way to counteract those whirlpools and natural buoyancy the towers we are building will be designed in such a way to compensate the difference in the pressure from the structure created in the water and that of the water or sea around it. The real challenge will be that since this building is partially immersed, the design requirements for the part above water will be different." Seeing her confused expressions he smiled and said "dont worry Ms. Marshall. This is not my first underwater building albeit this will be the first with human habitation."

Hayley smiled at Steven before glancing towards Klaus to gauge his reaction but he was studying the copy of design Steven had given him.

Klaus had his eyes on the design, his jaws clenched after having witnessed the smile Hayley had exchanged with Steven. ' _What the hell was wrong with him? She was not flirting with him.'_ That he was sure of. ' _Probably it was because she doesnt share it with you.'_ Reasoning with his ridiculous jealousy and controlling the urge to throw him out of the room, he commented ""so like Deep blue sea" sort of problem?"

"Oh great movie. Yeah something like that. This will not only be done for potential earthquake but also for strong current, storm etc…"

"Is this…" Hayley stared at the architectural design he had place in front of him and asked "is this an aquarium around the dinning hall?"

"Yes." He smiled.

By the time the meeting ending Hayley was very excited about the project.

Despite his apprehension about the project he couldnt help but feel excited which was doubled by seeing the excitement on her face. He was in his office gathering his stuff to leave for home when Camille voice stopped him **"** Klaus can I talk to you?"

"What is going on Camille?" Klaus asked. It had gotten late again. He was tired and he wanted to talk to Hayley before she disappeared into her room.

"I … I talk to my father."

"oh and?" He slipped his phone in his coat pocket.

"Dont worry about anything? He just changed his mind. If you are still interested, we can go ahead with it."

Klaus studied her solemn expressions for a moment and then said with a sigh, having an idea that she was not being entirely truthful to him "Alright then. I will talk to Vince and he can start on the architect. I want to do something different with this hotel. Different from Azure."

"Really? I have been to Azure in New York and LA. What do you want to change? It is a beauty and top of the line."

They both turned towards the door when the door opened and Hayley walked in.

Klaus wondered if he saw something in her eyes before it vanished replaced by that cold again. "O, sorry for interrupting. This came for you." She said curtly and retreated after putting an envelop on the desk.

Seeing her retreating, back in her freeze mode, he felt really frustrated "Camille, I will get in touch with you later. But this is great news. I am enjoying working with you."

"Great."

Klaus said "Let me walk you out."

At the elevator while waiting for it to arrive, he said "Camille, I…" hesitating for a moment he continued "I want to tell you that there can never be anything between us. I don't want to give you any hope. I still love my wife and maybe there was a time in the past I would have moved on from her but now I know I cannot. Now I know that _we_ wouldnt have that kind of love."

Something flashed in her eyes. Was it hurt? He immediately regretted saying that to her but then she said with a touch of smile "I understand. I am truly sorry for what happened Klaus. He just hoped. You know how parents are. I am truly embarrassed."

"It is alright. I had a suspicion that you didnt know. I am sorry for putting you in this situation but I wanted you to know where this proposal is coming from and I didnt want you getting hurt in the end."

She was brimming with kind of jealousy she didnt know she possessed and it was paralyzing her, panicking her for totally different reasons so when she heard him behind saying "good night Camille" she was at her wits end.

She picked up her bag and turned to leave when she noticed him standing there. "Come."

"I have my own car." She replied curtly.

"I know. I will ask Joseph to pick it up from here tomorrow. It does not make sense for us to travel in two cars when our destination is same."

"Well for the past two weeks, it made sense of so why not now."

"Do you have to pick a fight with me every single time we talk Hayley?"

"No" she said, realizing that she was being unfair to him. He _was_ sounding tired. He was being nice to her and she was just….he was right. She was trying to pick a fight.

"Hayley we have to talk about us."

Hayley said feeling utterly tired "not tonight"

Klaus sighed and said "alright."

He paused for a moment and then continued "okay. How about we spend time as a family?"

She wanted to comment on his use of family. Something. Anything. Something was egging her to do so but she bit her lips. She did want to spend time with Hope so she nodded. From the quiet from his side of car on the way back home, she knew he was upset with her but she didnt know how to handle the situation so she just encouraged the silence.

When they reached home, she headed towards the guesthouse. He grabbed her arm saying "Eden… it is time for you to move your things to main house."

She stilled, turned towards him and said "you are right. We still have a lot to discuss but we shouldn't confuse Hope and on that point can you please stick to _Hayley_?" ending with frustration.

"Okay. She must be sleeping by now but we can peek on her, together as her parents?" Hoping that she would see the charm in that.

Hayley heart ached not missing his "as her parents". "This is not fair to her. She should be spending some day light with her parents."

"Well this is your last week, you can spend time with her."

"And you?"

He just looked at her and then went to main house leaving her hurt. _Why? Why was he doing it to her? When will he stop punishing their daughter for her mistakes?_

She picked up a change of clothes and other necessities before heading towards the main house. When she reached upstairs, Klaus was standing by Hope's room door looking at her. And true to his words, she was asleep.

She stood next to him gazing at their daughter.

"She is amazing." Hayley smiled, the intense feeling of love for her daughter warmed her heart.

"She is…"

"Then why?" She suddenly turned towards him and asked in confusion.

Something told him that he was not going to like what she was going to say but if it meant clearing any more confusion. He asked "what?"

"Why would you not spend time with her. I have been seeing you for the past year. You treat her as if… you are punishing her because of me."

"No." He said in anguish. He wanted to confess to her that he could bring himself to be in Hope's presence without feeling guilty of depriving her of her mother. He wanted to confess to her that he had been punishing himself by depriving himself of their daughter's company since she couldnt spend time with her mother but something told him that she wouldn't believe him. He wanted to confess that it was not like him to be vulnerable to any relationship and he couldn't afford to do so in front of anyone, at least anyone who could take advantage of their situation.

Hayley continued "You accused me of not being happy at her birth but so were you Klaus."

"What are you talking about?"

"When Hope was born, you were unhappy with me. It bounded you to me. You could only be free of me if I had given birth to a son."

Klaus took an angry step towards her. There was far more confusions then he had ever imagined. He gritted "When I found out that it was a girl, I was overjoyed."

"Why?' She whispered shocked at his confession.

His fingers raked through his hair and after slight hesitation, taking a leap of faith, he said "I thought it would give us an opportunity to become a proper family."

His response was so unexpected that she just gaped at him as she recalled Klaus's history. Never ever in her wildest dreams she had imagined that Klaus might have the same dreams as she had. She looked at their daughter and a smile appeared on her lips 'Hope' so that is what he meant? Hope for them, as a family.'

Unnerved by this newly discovered insight to his thoughts, she turned away from him to go in her room to put the clothes but then stopped and said "you know you were wrong."

"About what?" He asked.

"About me wanting to leave you and Hope."

When he just looked at her for elaboration she continued "if you had come to identify me or even shown an inclination of seeing my body or about me, I would have come back. I never intended this to happen. I waited for _six months_ for you to make an appearance. Six months of waiting Klaus, of intense torture. Six months of seven major surgeries and therapy on top of the postpartum depression that I didnt know I had and _then_ I decided to get that birthmark removed. That day I had come to this conclusion that you and I were done. I didnt want anything on me that made you once excited. Have I succeeded in that?" ending with sarcasm.

He winced at her tone and said "I should have come Eden…"

"Hayley…" She whispered softly, her heart was breaking for both of them, their situation, and left him alone.

Half an hour later Hayley was in her room showered, changed into causal slacks, thinking about what he had told her, remembering his reaction when he had come to the hospital and for the first time in a long time she really thought about his reaction at her refusal in believing that they had a daughter, his reaction when her father was being nasty with her. Wondering if she had read his reaction wrong, she sighed and brushed her hair, startled when with a knock at the door. Knowing it must be Klaus, she opened the door but a moment later was a bit disappointed to see Joseph standing there. He said "dinner Ms. Marshall. Mr. Mikaelson is waiting for you." He continued to explain preempting her excuse. There was a glint in his eyes that suddenly unnerved her. She fixed her hair to cover up the scar and said thank you Joseph. I will be down in five minutes."

When she reached the dinning room, he was drinking, standing near the window.

She asked with exasperation "can we have this dinner without talking about our past, present or future?"

"Yes of course."

"This is wonderful" looking at the festive table she said as she settled down next to him, for the first time in the past two years.

"Dig in" he gestured her as he poured wine for both of them.

As he passed her the roast chicken she asked "Tell me about Dumas. Why has it been so hard for you to get him and why is he avoiding you now?"

He studied her determined face and then after a sigh said "he thinks I am too young. He started this company from scratch and even though he is selling it, he wants to sell it to someone who is worth it, worth taking it to level he has unable been."

"Oh." Hayley said.

Klaus leaned back and said "you dont think I am capable of."

"I .. I didnt say that but I also dont know you."

"You are my wife. How can you not know about me?"

"I was … okay am your wife." She corrected herself in frustration when she saw him raising eyebrows. "but I never knew you."

"As I recall you know me perfectly."

Seeing that familiar smirk on his face, a flush started to climb her jaw.

Trying to gain upper hand she smarted " _in boardroom and outside our bed_."

Seeing him clenching at his jaws, she felt an empty victory "fair enough."

" _Are_ you capable of?" She asked.

He continued to look at her, a newly found admiration for her started from somewhere deep inside. "Yes I am capable of."

"Then we keep looking for him and when we find him you persuade him whatever it takes and stop being an…." she stopped talking.

He finished "an ass."

"Sure we will go by that" Hayley said and cursed when he laughed openly. He rarely laughed.

She could feel her cheeks burning, the desire pooling in between her legs so feeling very conscious she bend her head over her plate and continued to eat. She looked up only when he said "no you have not."

"What?"

"You asked me if you have succeeded in removing all traces of the person who excited me once. No you have not" Realization dawned on her and felt weak with need. An immense relief settled at the base of her stomach closely followed by the old feeling of dread brought on by the feeling of betrayal. Why? She asked herself as she picked up the glass of wine.

Klaus studied her bend head for a moment and knew that the topic was closed. He too sighed and stabbed the piece of roast with his fork. _'Had he made a mistake in sharing his dream with her? Does he see him differently now?_ _At this speed, maybe he will get in her good books by the time Hope is of marriageable age.'_ He thought bitterly as he took a long swig of his wine.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Thoughts? What do you think about Gia? And will Kara chalk out the information gathered from Gia as a coincidence? Was Emerson involved in the kidnapping? Will Klaus get hands on Dumas finally? Two more chapters._**


	19. Bridging - 2

**_A/N: Thank you for the wonderful reviews. td, as always your review is very enlightening. Scarlet, I understand what you mean about the story involving more of Mikaelsons but this as you can see is the day to day story and there is so much I can do to involve them since Klaus and Hayley have their own problems to resolve._**

 ** _Synopsis: Klaus and Elijah go after Dumas. After having another setup Hayley proposes a solution to untangle the knots in their lives. And finally Klaus comes face to face with a deep secret in his wife's life while dealing with a crisis in their life._**

* * *

 _She had changed. She was not accommodating anymore_. He realized as he looked at her. He had noticed a change in her but not really understood where it came from, still didnt and for the first time he welcomed the thought that maybe she was different. _Maybe Emerson was influencing her life somehow. Not anymore. Wasn't that the reason she never revealed her identity? But she said that she would have come back if only he had gone to_ …. He thought uncomfortably. In any case she was not that person anymore. Two years might have matured her. What once was important may not be anymore, the love she had for money was second to her love for their daughter, that he was getting surer of day by day. She loved that little child. He studied her thoughtful as she continued to eat her food.

"I was thinking since it has only been couple of weeks since Ansel passed away, I dont think it will be appropriate to do the christmas celebrations but we can take Hope somewhere she likes. What is her favorite place?"

Pang of loss hit him with full force. Past few weeks had not really given him time to fully grieve for the loss. He studied her for a moment and then said carefully, keeping his eyes focused on her face "how about we go visit Hannah at new year?"

Her fork clattered on her plate and she gaped at him. "Oh Klaus, that would be wonderful but what about my father?"

"I can work something around it. The school knows to keep a secret or two." Finally something to bring genuine smile to her face, he thought with satisfaction. Finally something they could bound over and then they can go from there.

She looked down at him and then remembering Dina's call, she said "I know you go see her. Why?"

She studied that flush spreading on his cheek with fascination. It was so unlike him to be so vulnerable outside their bed that she just wanted to hug him despite everything. He cleared his throat "your father had no right to keep you away from her."

"But you agreed to my father once." She couldnt help but challenge him.

"You died damnit." He said rather aggressively and pushed his seat back.

"Couldnt carry the burden of guilt anymore?" again she couldnt stop herself from responding bitterly and then immediately regretted saying that as he just stared at her, his fist clenching on his side and then he left without another word.

 _He is trying. What are you doing?_ Her conscious prickled at her again.

An hour later he was still unable to sleep unable to stop thinking about what she had said because she was right- it was the guilt that had led him to start cultivating his relationship with Hannah. He wanted to give her leeway for retaliating but he was not a patient man and the little he had was wearing off too. He was feeling frustrated at the lack of progress between them. He glared at the closed door between their rooms. He wanted to burst through it and carry her back to their bed but he had promised her so he would wait. He could restraint himself. He knew he could. After a lot of pacing and restraint he finally fell on the bed only to endure a very restless night.

* * *

In the meantime Hayley too was lying, tossing and turning in her bed, regretting what she had said to him. Instinct was telling her that her not so very patient was going to burst one of these days since he was pushing all of the wrong buttons but she wanted him to answer for all those things he had done to her two years ago.

 _But what was the point of everything when it was inevitable that they will end up together. It was just the matter of when and for that too she didnt have much time, did she?_

 _Not before he accepts the error in his ways._ She told herself. _But how long could they really continue to live like this?_ _Will Klaus let them carry on like this if she does end up getting pregnant? The label of 'bastard' to any child born to Hayley Marshall instead of Mrs. Mikealson will never be acceptable to him and to yourself… to think of it._ _For your child, you will have to marry him again to maintain this charade of yours._ She sighed with resignation. _And if it is a boy this time?_ She at once sat up. _Then you can finally get what you always wanted._

 _But how?_ She laid back again and it hit her.

If she was carrying a boy then she could disclose her identity and her father's condition will be fulfilled. A deep sense of satisfaction ran through her body and for the first time she hoped that she was pregnant with a a boy as her fingers brushed her flat stomach. At least something good will come out of this if she in fact is pregnant again. She will have to talk to Klaus about it when the time is right. Thinking, hoping and praying about the possibility of pregnancy and what it could do she drifted to sleep.

* * *

Next morning when he woke up after a long restless night, he was edgy. His instinct told him that she had left for the office. _Avoiding him in personal setting!_ He thought angrily as he took a quick shower, dressed up and without having breakfast left the house. During the drive to the office he dialed Lucian's number and asked "As soon as the call connected he asked "found anything."

"Yes. I was going to call you but got busy with the other business."

Feeling a bit jittery he asked "who kidnapped them?"

"No. I was talking about Dumas. He is in London."

He suddenly felt as if he was doused in a canister of caffeine "oh great. Now what about the kidnapping."

"You were to tell me something to take that as a lead but without your telling you I am following my instinct- James Emerson."

"Police questioned him. He called me to let me know that he was not involved but I want you to follow up your lead. As for Eden unfortunately there is nothing I can give you to work on. You do what you do best."

"So no-one knows that she is alive."

"Well, an old friend of hers recognized her yesterday. Gia… something.. I am on the way to the office. Will text you her last name when I reached there."

Klaus disconnected the call and rubbed his eyes at the lack of sleep and flux of frustration. She was being obstinate. There was no way he could penetrate through her.

When he reached the office, she was already there, looking poised and completely rested. He felt a surge of anger towards her for looking that way when he himself couldn't get a wink of restful sleep. _This is what happens when you are swarmed with guilt and regrets._ He walked into this office without replying to her greetings, welcoming the distraction. Past two weeks have been the most unproductive of his life. He had hotels to build, get to Dumas somehow and persuade him once again.

"What is my schedule today, Hayley?" He asked her when she came in to give him his coffee. As she placed his coffee cup near him, the basic domestic task just seemed too intimate to him. He looked up towards her, wanted to talk to her about them but she was looking down at her black diary. Cursing her for having the power to make him feel that way he stood up and strolled towards the window with his coffee.

By the time she was done telling him, he knew he will be swarmed till mid-night and he was already dead-tired. He muttered "I will need a lot of coffee today to get me through this day." She was starting to leave when he turned towards her and asked her "Hayley, what is Gia's last name? Lucian is looking into something for me… the kidnappings?" at her questioning look he elaborated.

"Do you suspect her? No way Klaus. She is a mother and…"

"Her last name, Eden?" He asked curtly.

Hayley replied curtly "it is Hayley and her last name is Thomas."

"Okay good."

With that comment, she knew that she was dismissed as she watched him walk back to his desk and started typing something on his phone and bit her lips. ' _He was different since morning. Maybe she had finally pushed him too far. Maybe she should have gone to him after that two hours of sleeplessness. Maybe they should have talked about … what? what should they have talked about? He was going to tell her the same old story? Should she believe him, let go of their past?'_

' _What was she doing letting herself be manipulated by him? He is guilt-shaming her and she was ready to swoon.'_ She thought in disgust. _'What happened to her iron will? In just under two weeks he had managed to break all her barriers. Why doesn't he just accept what he had done? She will be more accommodating to him if he does that. It will be easier to move on knowing where they both stand with each other.'_

 _'What was she doing? Was she trying to lose Hope? If you are pregnant you should be trying to reconcile rather than complicate things further.'_

When Hayley walked into his office ten minutes later with her notepad, he was on the phone with someone, in a heated discussion. He glanced at her her, gestured her to be back in five minutes. Five minutes later she was sitting opposite him while he was having an online meeting with the CEO of Apex construction company.

After the meeting, he told her "I need the notes by the end of the day and Hayley get in touch with Kara and transfer everything to her. I dont want any confusions after she comes back. I have already lost a lot of time so I want things to run smoothly."

"Sure." She said and left the room.

At her desk, Hayley pursed her lips, conflicted by his behaviour.

' _Isn't that what you wanted?'_ A voice asked her.

 _No. Never. I just want…._

 _What do you want?_

 _Nothing._ She sighed in frustration and confusion. Feeling slightly resentful she dialed Kara's number and said "I was wondering if we could meet and I could handover you everything we have been doing for the past three weeks."

Kara said "sure. I can meet you after work today in your favorite restaurant."

Hayley flinched at the reference and regretted sharing it with her but said "sure. Let me call you when I leave" and rung off.

He closed the file and his eyes to concentrate, to empty his mind and just relax. Too much had happened during the past two weeks. Too much. The facts that he had believed during the past two years were a lie, his wife was alive, his father knew about it, his daughter and wife were kidnapped by people who were still at large, his wife was not happy with him, the projects he was working on were in jeopardy. If he lost this company because of the stupid reason Dumas had in his mind, his reputation will suffer a setback. He had not worked day and night to reach this! What was Dumas up to? Has he found another buyer? A much older and experienced person? But who? Suddenly a thought occurred him. He at once sat up and dialed Lucian number. As soon as the call connected he said "hello Lucian. You told me that you are following your instinct about James Emerson. Where is he these days?"

"Hmm London but I dont think he is involved Klaus. I keep thinking why would he kidnap Hope and let her go…"

Klaus pursed his lips as he added two and two. Dumas was in London. Emerson was in London. And Emerson just threatened him.

Realizing that Lucian was still online he said "Hmm keep at it. As long as we dont figure out they will be in danger."

He cursed loudly after putting the cell down and stood up. He knew what he had to do. London. He had to go after Dumas. He couldn't lose this project to Emerson. He looked up when Hayley walked in and said "Mr. Mikaelson…." but a stern look from him made her stutter "Klaus… I…" and then she saw his expressions and said "wrong time?"

"Yes." Klaus gritted. "Dumas went to yo…. ur…. Emerson."

"What?" she asked in shock "Why?"

"Emerson wants to take revenge from me. I humiliated him when I forced him out of the company and took over."

"Oh…" she was quiet for a moment before asking hesitantly "What are you going to do?"

He continued to stare at her wordlessly for what seemed like infinity and then said harshly "I am getting him back."

"Oh" Hayley said keeping her voice calm but she could feel that panic taking over whenever her father was mentioned. His cell rang and seeing her rolling her eyes he smiled and picked it up "yes Elijah."

"Niklaus, Dumas is meeting Emerson in London" Elijah's frosted voice came from the other end.

He ran his fingers through his hair and glanced at Hayley. "Yes I know. I am working on it."

Elijah asked angrily "how? Father is furious."

Hayley studied Klaus while he was talking on the phone, getting confused as well as afraid that her father was going to ruin her life again. With heavy heart and pit in the bottom of her stomach she silently retreated from his room.

Klaus stared at her retreating and then said "I think we should go meet him."

"Good. Umm are you going to take Eden with you?" Elijah asked.

"No" He didnt even have to think about it. The lack of color on her face at the mention of her father was enough for him to know how much she was affected by that news. He wouldnt have taken her in any case but that just solidified his decision. "I dont want to expose her to him. In any case there is a matter of Hope… She has to stay behind with Hope."

"Are you guys back together?"

"Working on it." He gritted at the lack of progress they were making.

"Good. I will inform Kara to get ready and I will get us seat preferably tonight."

"Yes, I don't want to delay this. I will not lose Dumas to Emerson." Klaus said forcefully.

"We wouldnt."

After putting the cell down he called Joseph and said "pack me for a few days. I might have to leave for London tonight."

"Anything else, Sir?" Joseph asked.

"No" and rung off.

Remembering that she had come in to tell him something he walked out, saw her lost in thoughts, cursed Emerson for putting her in this position. He asked her "you came in for something?"

"O.. I was going to ask for an early day today. I was going to meet Kara before going home to hand things over to her."

"Yes sure. Do that. In fact you can meet her after the meeting with Stanley and then go home." He paused, walked around her desk to reach her, reach out for her hand. He said, caressing the back of her hand gently "go home and spend time with Hope. She deserves that. You deserve that."

Hayley surveyed his tired face and asked "are you okay?"

"Yes. Just Emerson. I might have to go to London."

"When?"

"As soon as Elijah can get us seats."

"Okay."She said. _What else could she say._

She felt a flush creeping into her cheek when she noticed his gaze settling on her lips. She wanted him to lean in and kiss her. What was the matter with her? She scolded herself and looked away.

"Some one will come" She said looking pointedly at their held hands.

He sighed and let go, turned back to his office.

After Stanley left he started to compile the information he will be needing in London while Hayley left to meet Kara.

An hour later, during which he tried to wrap up some of his unfinished tasks, after being informed by Elijah about their flight later that evening while being taken to the airport by the company driver after picking up his stuff from home, he tired her cell again. It went staring to voicemail. He said "Ed..Hayley Elijah got us seats for tonight. We are leaving for London in three hours. I cannot lose that company. Until I get it back, I'll not be back. Hope… I trust you with Hope. Kara will be with us so dont worry about the work load."

He really wanted to talk to her and was frustrated that he couldnt get hold of. At least he had left a message for her.

When he joined Elijah he asked "have you talked to her?"

"No, I couldn't get hold of her. I have left a voice mail."

"Where is Kara?"

"She will join tomorrow. She had something to finish here today." Elijah said "Transfer information to her replacement."

"Great."

* * *

In the meantime Hayley finished telling Kara about the work she had done in Falcon Industries for the past three weeks. She passed the documents for the Utopia project to Kara and said "why don't you go through it. I will be back in a second." Wanting to create a distance between the oh-so-charming Kara whom she was realizing fast men would have real trouble keeping their distance from. With that uncomfortable realization and after hearing her brining Klaus in every sentence of their conversation, the serpent, painting the image of Klaus and Kara cheating on her, raised its head once again but she suppressed it.

Kara was going through the document when Hayley's cell rang. She looked around and then peeking at who was calling she bit her lips but she let it go on the voice mail.

Hayley walked out of the bathroom consoling herself that she just have to spend a few more minutes in this wretched woman company. The moment she reached her seat, Kara said "I think I have got everything. I will give you a call if I need anything else. Right now I have to leave. Mr. Mikaelson called. Something urgent. Marry Christmas Ms. Marshall."

Hayley stared at her in surprise at her abrupt departure but nodded, surprised at why would Klaus be calling her? Reassuring herself once again that Klaus will not cheat on her _now_ , she too picked up her cell and headed towards home looking forward to spending time with Hope with this nagging feeling that she was missing something.

* * *

He had been gone for ten days and even though she had tried to keep herself busy by looking for a nanny for Hope, finally gotten hold of an middle age woman, Mia Lenard, whose eyes and smile reminded her of Dina, getting reacquainted with her daughter, trying to make up for the lost time, starting those dance classes every alternate day after her last official day at office which he had missed since he was in London, she still missed him. Despite him fleetingly mentioning to her that he will have to go to London, it still had come as a shock to her to find out from Joseph that he had actually left for London. Her disappointment peaking at the realization that he left without saying farewells to Hope not to mention leaving her after such a big incidence. Didn't she, herself deserve to get first hand information? He had not even called her or messaged her ever since he had gone. Couple of times she had picked up her cell to call him but then didn't as she recalled all those times she had called him during those business trips and her messages and calls were lost somewhere in between. From Joseph she had found out that he had been inquiring about Hope which was comfort somewhat. At least he cared about their daughter. She was mad as hell at him. He had missed Christmas and new year with Hope, his suggestion to spend time with Hannah remained just a suggestion. After his claim that he would make things right, she had never expected this type of behavior from him. While walking towards her room after tucking Hope in, which she had been doing for since he had left for London, she stopped right outside his room, hesitated but then slowly opened the door and stood at the threshold looking into it. How could they keep on living like that? At this pace they will never be able to resolve their issues but from the current events she had come to realize that they had to do it soon. Yes she had always known that she would do anything for her daughter even if it meant staying with Klaus as his wife or his lover but these past few days, she was very quickly realizing that that was not enough. What would she do or turn to for real adult love and understanding? A child can only hold together a marriage for so long. She didnt have any first hand knowledge about steady marriages but one thing she knew and that was marriage needs something more than a child, at the least care and understanding for each other. Love too maybe… she wondered thirsty.

She jumped when she heard him behind her. "I was half expecting you to be gone." When she turned to look at him, she realized that he really looked exhausted and annoyed, really annoyed. Keeping her voice calm, despite the anger and resentment bubbling in her she asked in confusion, suppressing her anger and desire to lash at him "Why? Why would I leave Hope?"

"I don't know." He said sarcastically "why wouldn't you take my calls?"

He was tired after the past ten most hectic days of his life. He had spend every waking hour locked in meetings after meetings trying to persuade Dumas and finally had managed to do so despite Emerson's all efforts to sabotage it and whatever time he found in between he had tried to contact her but he was unable to. A couple of times he had almost given in to his frustration and asked Joseph about her then realizing how strange it would look to inquire about her secretary from his butler, he had give up. Finally he had gotten so upset with her that he had given up on trying to contact her. At this moment, he was furious with her. Period. Furious with her about everything.

"If you had, I would have."

Her outrageous lie and defiance threw him over the edge and he said exasperated "Oh come on Eden… I am tired. I don't want to hear any more lies from you."

She stared at him speculatively. He did look tired and the anger was started to appear on his face. Was it some sort of lay-the-blame-on-the-other-person game?

He walked into his room, brushing her aside, toed off his shoes and started to unbutton his shirt. She stood there transfixed as her gaze fell on the tattoo being revealed as he peeled the shirt off of him. She started to turn but then stopped and turn back to him and asked "did you call me yourself?"

"No. I asked Kara to do so."

"She was with you too?"

"What are you talking about Eden? I left you a message and I tried to contact you so many times but couldnt get hold of you." He was looking angry.

She stood there confused because she wanted to believe him. She said slowly "I never got your message. Was that through Kara too?"

"No. _I_ left it on your cell phone before I left for London. I don't know why you are acting like that. I get it that you are angry with me but that was really childish." He angrily placed his watch on the side table and flicked the button of his pants open and pulled his shirt out.

"Klaus… I never got your message. I found out through Joseph that you were in Lon…." but he was already a couple of inches from her, his warm breath on her face as he had pushed her against the wall.

"Stop it. Please stop it. I am tried of this attitude of yours." He banged his hand on the wall behind her. "Tell me one thing, dear wife. It seems that you are upset that I didn't call you, _why didn't you call me?"_

"Why? So that it was never passed on." She said angry. _What the hell was going on?_

Klaus sighed, looked down for a moment before saying "Hayley, I told you that there must have been a confusion. Kara would never screen your calls."

"Am I to assume that I am on the emergency list now?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh just that when we were married…"

"we are still married." He cut her off.

"You know what I mean." She snapped feeling frustrated at this close encounter, his arms bracketing her.

"You were saying?" He didn't want any more secrets between them.

"When I used to call you, Kara would never patch me through. I was not aware of the emergency list back then. Naturally I was not on it then. Will it be too much of a hope to think that I will be this time?"

Ignoring her sarcasm, he gritted "You used to call me?"

"Are you pretending that you didn't know?"

" _I never told her to not patch you through_. If she didn't patch you through why didn't you override her? You had the authority considering you were my wife."

"I dont think I ever had the authority Klaus. She knew about the nature of our marriage." She said accusatory.

A flush appeared on his cheek. "Kara… you have to understand was my PA. She knew almost every detail about my life. It was the requirement of her job. It was very stressful time of my life too and I think I must have give her the impression that I was unhappy with my marriage. I think she took matters into her hand. She just wanted to uncomplicated my life. It must never have crossed her mind that our relationship had changed."

"Our relationship never changed Klaus. It was just sex."

Suddenly his brows knit and "How do you know that Kara knew about our marriage?"

"She told me."

"When?"

"A few days ago. You were on that business trip to Boston… wait a minute. It was not a business trip. You went to meet _Dr. Mehta._ " Realization dawn on her.

"Yes I wanted confirmation." He answered tiredly. "Anyway you were telling me about Kara."

Hayley said angrily "He had no right to tell you about me. Doctor patient confidentiality."

"Believe me, he didnt" he answered sardonically. "I practically had to twist his arm to get information out of him, still he wouldn't tell me."

"So how?"

He sighed "I deduced from his reaction when I showed him your picture."

At her confused look he elaborated impatiently "the one someone took at the Amanda gala."

"Oh."

"You were telling me about Kara." He wouldn't let go.

"She told me that you …." she tried to remember her exact words but she could so she continued "she gave me the impression that she knew you were not happy with your wife and it was her job to keep your life running smoothly She really cares bout your …"

A smile suddenly appeared on his lips "tell me love, are you jealous of Kara?"

"No." Flustered by the endearment he had used for her, she said angrily. She pushed her arm to make a path to leave but he wouldn't budge. Looking down into her flushed face he said "you don't have to be jealous of Kara. She is just my assistant."

"She does not think so." Hayley answered defiantly when she was feeling miserable.

"Now you are being ridiculous." Sudden blast of annoyance took over.

Hayley sighed "Klaus, she fancies you." ' _What was the point of pretending? It bothered her to see him with Kara so why not tell him?'_

He pushed him away from the wall and said with frustration "I don't know why we are even having this stupid discussion. I have never been unfaithful to you."

When she averted her eyes he asked, heavy hearted "are you actually accusing me of cheating on our vows with Kara or someone else?"

"I…"

"You should go before I really lose my temper." He said in a voice that scared her and dashed to the bathroom.

Hayley stood at that spot for a long time and then she dashed to his cellphone. She picked it up and after checking it she realized he was telling the truth. He had called her plenty of time. Feeling confused she put the cell down and exited his room.

The first thing she did when she reached her room she checked her own cell but there was no missed call from him. The confusion was reaching at its peak now. What was going on? Their baggages were piling up. Should she believe him? She wondered while changing her clothes. Feeling utterly confused she laid on the bed, closed her eyes but sleep was nowhere near her. After lots of tossing and turning, confused about how she was going to understand her husband if their mutual conflicts are never going to be resolved, she finally managed to drift to sleep.

Next morning Klaus was drinking his coffee in the study since it was a Sunday when Hope ran in his room saying "daddy is home." He smiled as he turned back and saw a stranger walking after her. He asked "who are you?" as he picked up Hope.

"Mia Lenard, Sir. I am Ms. Mikaelson new nanny."

"Oh right." He said.

Before he could ask anything further, Hayley entered the room and said "good morning."

When she walked towards him, he felt hopeful. Was she walked towards him or …. a moment later a cold bucket of water was doused on him when she leaned in and kissed Hope and Hope happily went in her arms. Hayley asked while settling Hope on her hip "how was the meeting? It slipped my mind last night."

"Fine."

When he didn't elaborate she asked "did you get the company?"

"Yes."

"And my father?"

He stayed quiet.

"Are you still smarting over last night's conversation.

He turned towards her and said angrily "I know I have made mistakes Hayley but don't assume that you can push my buttons unlimited."

"You want me to believe that …. what you said last night. That you didn't cheat on me, you never had an affair with anyone and that you didn't photoshop those photos?"

"Yes." He said earnestly.

"Answer me one question and I will believe you."

"Ask away."

"You say that you discovered that photo was photoshopped soon after my accident then why didnt you never asked about me from Ansel or made an effort to have a proper funeral for me?"

He just stared at her. He would and could never tell her how he had gone into depression. He was willing to do anything to get her back but never reveal his vulnerabilities.

She said a little sadly, wishing him to say something "That is what I thought."

"Eden…"

"Hayley…"

"Hayley, I cannot give an explanation to why I didnt do that but you have to believe me."

"You ask me to believe you when you dont give me anything to believe you."

Hayley gave him a sad smile and started to turn but then stopped and said "I believe you that you called me but I never received your calls on my phone or any message for that matter. If you dont believe me you can check my cell phone." Saying that she turned and left.

The fact that she believed him that he had called her did nothing to soothe his anger and he threw a punch in the wall, creating a dent in it. Staring at his injured knuckles he banged the door shut. She was lying to him again. Of course she had deleted his calls from the call history otherwise why would she offer him to see her phone. She was acting out because she still doesn't trust him, does not believe him about those photos. The knowledge that she was not willing to accept the truth of what happened was leading to nowhere. He wished he could force her to listen to her. Obstinate woman! She had changed so much.

 _"A woman needs a firm hand. Don't be too gentle with them. If you do they take liberty and you cannot have that."_

Her father's scornful voice rang in his mind. He cursed himself for even thinking about it.

When he had thought that he would do anything to win her, he had never imagined it will be him bearing his soul to her. He could not trust anyone like she wanted him to. He couldn't let her think that he was weak. The objective was to woo her, to gain her trust never even realizing that in doing so he might have to expose himself too. It was too much. How does a person who never trusted anyone can start doing that overnight? After the greatest victory of his life, getting the company, it felt like an empty victory.

The only conciliation of that disastrous of a the conversation was spending time with Hope and her even though most of the time they ignored locking gaze or talking to each other.

After another sleepless night, not because of work but because of his stubborn wife sleeping peacefully in the next room, made him realize that this was becoming a regular feature in his life from onwards. Slowly he got up, got ready and left for the office not even bothering to look for her. He was not in the mood to go into one of their pointless confrontations which was leading to nowhere. During the drive it occurred to him for the first time that they might never get their lives in order. If she was going to be this childish and not respond to his calls then what could he do. Walking out of the elevator, he was still lost in thoughts until he was greeted by a very chirpy voice "good morning Mr. Mikaelson."

"Oh Kara. Good morning. Welcome back." An impulsive smile spread on his lips.

"Good to be back." She smiled as she looked around.

In a matter of seconds Klaus noticed that she had rearranged her desk, gone were the traces of Hayley Marshall ever working there. Gone was the paper weight, the black pen and the beautiful letter opener which he had never gotten a chance to ask her where she had gotten it. He nodded smilingly and went inside his office and instantly noticed the changes there too. They were minor but they were there. When she came in with his cup of coffee he asked "where is my stress ball?"

Kara said "oh I put it in your drawer. I didn't know you were using it."

"Oh yeah. I started using…. E… Hayley had started putting it out and I had started using it. Anyway no problem" he opened the drawer and took it out missing the narrow of eyes.

Taking a gulp of the coffee brought on a bitter taste. After she was done telling him his schedule for the day, she got up to leave when he said "Kara I have started to take one sugar."

Kara smiled which he couldn't help but notice that her smile never reached her eyes.

The day forward went downhill. The meetings ended on frustrating notes, Elijah's call about attending the MIkaeslon company thrown gala at the end of the week regarding the purchase of new company was the last thing on his mind, the call from Lucian informing him that both Gia and Emerson were not involved in the kidnapping was anticipated yet not welcomed. As of this moment there were zero suspect behind the kidnapping.

When Kara came in to say "Mr. Mikaelson do you want me to bring anything for you?" he just stared at her in confusion so she elaborated "you missed lunch. Maybe a sandwich?"

"Oh no." he rubbed his eyes. He sighed when she walked in and sat opposite him "is there any problem?"

He looked up at her remembering what Hayley had told him about those calls. Wondering if he should ask her, he opened his mouth but then clamped it shut telling himself that even if she did that she was just looking out for him. He was unhappy during his marriage and Kara cared about him. Even now looking at the concern on her face, realizing where it was coming from he sighed and said "they have not been able to find out who was behind the kidnapping."

"I am sorry. I wish I could do something to help." She said sympathetically.

"thank you." He replied.

"Mr. Mikaelson, ever since I heard about the kidnapping I have been really scared. I was wondering if they were after Ms. Marshall."

"What do you mean?" He sat up straight fearing that Kara might know something about Eden.

"She was really close to your father. What if someone thought that your father left her something in his will and they are after that?"

Impressed by her insight on that angle at the same time as the familiar frustration took over him at the misunderstanding between her and his father, he said "hmm. It is entirely possible. Lets see what the police comes up with." It felt good to talk to Kara. Now he had another angle he could present to the police. Maybe they will find something.

"Did… Did Mr. Stantson leave something for Ms. Marshall." Kara asked hesitantly.

"Yes he did. He thought of her as his daughter." Klaus said thoughtfully and Kara knowing him so well knew that the subject was closed even.

As Klaus studied her, she pursed her lips gave him a thin smile and turned away from him.

"Get me Ms. Marshall" he said as she reached the door. As she left he realized that he was missing her presence in the office. Even though he was really angry at her, he was still missing her. Seeing her multiple times a day, knowing that she was sitting in the next room was an experience he had not experienced when they were married and he was missing it.

By the evening he was in a terrible mood. Hayley had not called him back or attended his calls confirming his suspicion of harboring the ill feelings about him. Detective Marcel contacted him just before he was leaving for home and said to him "Klaus we have exhausted all our leads and unfortunately there is nothing else we can do. Captain Griffin wants us to close this case considering there has been no follow up to that kidnapping."

Klaus said "but you cannot close the case like this Marcel."

Marcel said "Klaus, listen your family is safe and personally I think those kidnappers were messing with you. They could have harmed them but they didnt. They were not even in that cottage when we rescued them. It is a very curious case. Normally there is a demand for ransom or something. We didnt even get that. In the light of events, I think it is safe to say that your family is safe. If anything comes up or you have any other suspect do tell and we will continue to follow up but as of now there is nothing we can do."

He cursed but since he didnt have any suspect he stayed quiet and then he remembered what Kara had suggested. He opened his mouth to tell Marcel about his suspicion but then hesitated in the light of her identity being revealed. And if it were about money wouldnt the kidnappers have asked for ransom like what Marcel said? Thinking about that he said "alright. I will keep in touch." Without saying anything else he disconnected.

While driving home, it occurred to him maybe she was unable to get back to him, a thought that has not crossed his mind until now. Speeding up, he reached home, hurried upstairs and found her in Hope's room sitting on the carpet opposite her. His initial reaction of relief soon evaporated and he started railing on her.

Hayley stared at him open mouth for a moment and then said to Hope "baby, I will just be back."

She motioned Klaus to follow her. As soon as they exited the room she hissed "wants the matter with you?"

He hissed "I have been calling you since morning. When are you going to stop being childish?"

"What are you talking about? I never got your call."

"Oh come on Hayley. I know you are still upset with me about those damn photos but this is getting really really childish." He lashed at her angrily and turned to leave whereas she just stared at him open mouth.

Suddenly he stopped in his track as he registered her shocked expressions. Nothing about her expressions was fake. He recalled her offer to check her cell. A thought occurred to him, he walked back and said "give me your phone."

"What?"

"Give me your phone." He reiterated.

Hayley gave him his phone, still confused "fine. Take it. You are being crazy. I thought we will never go back to our old selves but remember I am not the same person. You cannot…."

"Eden.. phone." He gritted.

He held her phone and then after fiddling through it for a second, he showed the screen to her gritting "you have blocked all my calls and message."

"What?" She grabbed the phone back and just stared at it. "I never…"

"Oh Eden… please… Why are you lying to me when the truth is facing in both of our faces? You blocked me because I didnt tell you in person that I was going to London. Tell me one thing. Did you do that after you heard the message from me or before?"

"Klaus I didnt…." she tried to explain but he had already turned away from her and stalked out.

* * *

Hayley stood there shocked at the turn of event, staring at her phone, confused at how it could have happened. But Klaus was right, the truth _was_ staring at her, showing her its ugly teeth. Somehow she had blocked his number but she couldnt have. But what other explanation was there? She had seen outgoing calls on his phone which she had never received. But then who could have done so?

She took a deep breath and then thinking that she has to make him listen to her, to get to the bottom of what has been happening, she walked towards Klaus's room. They had to talk. Today they will hash it all out and then move on, however, but they will move on. They couldn't keep on going on like this. Throwing blames and reaching to baseless conclusions. Walking out on unfinished confessions and discussions was not the solution. She needed for him to understand that, understand how she had felt at his lack of contact. Why would she block his number when she was practically glued to her cell phone, hoping to get his call? And she had to understand why was he so upset or why did he even think that she would leave him.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Yeah I am sorry their problems keep on piling up but if you thought that whoever sabotaged their wedding in the first place was out of story then think again :). Also I thought it would make more sense if something new pushes them in final confrontation._**

 ** _What do you think about Hayley's plan about their future? Who sabotaged their wedding in the first place? I am sure most of you must have guessed by now?_**


	20. Unveiling - 2

**_A/N: Thanks for the wonderful reviews :). Td you might be onto something about the phone blocking thing. Next chapter will reveal things._**

 ** _Synopsis: Hayley and Klaus come to an understanding. Hayley finally meets Mikaelsson, the meeting sheds some unexpected light on the relationships around her. An unexpected event in their life reveals more secrets._**

* * *

She knocked at the door and then without waiting for the reply she entered the room, for the first time taking advantage of her role in his life. The room was empty. She stood there for a moment wondering what to do as she heard the water running in the bathroom and then lifting her chin with determination, she walked straight into the bathroom- there was only one place where she could make him listen to her from where he couldn't escape that easily.

Klaus was trying to blow the steam by taking a cold shower unable to believe that she had actually blocked his number. If she was going to go down that path then what were the chances of their reconciliation. He startled when he heard her "Klaus, we have to talk."

He blew the running water from his lips and peeked out of the cubical. "now you are eager to talk?"

"Shut up Klaus. We have a huge problem."

"If you want to talk then come in."

Hayley glared at his silhouette through the paned glass of the cubical and started to pace.

"Someone changed my phone settings and got your number blocked…." she shrieked as she was gripped around he waist with wet hands and pulled into the cubical and within seconds she was drenched in warm water.

 _"You maniac!"_ she screamed staring down at her wet clung clothes.

"You were saying…" he said looking down at her through wet lashes.

She looked up at his face angrily, the water running down between them. She reached around to turn the shower off. "Someone else must have done it. I spend the past ten days agonizing over the absence of call from you. I was so mad at you that I…. stop it" as she realized that his hand had slipped under her shirt and was pulling it up.

But he was not listening to her, his hand were cupping her wet-bra-clad breast and he had pulled the cup down for the breast to spill out of them. His thumb moved on her taut nippled.

She started to open her mouth with the intention of chiding him but at that moment his thumb rubbed her nipple and she forgot what she was going to say.

"Klaus please dont do this. I am trying to talk here."

"Talk.…I am listening" he muttered as he pinched her nipple and a moan escaped her lips, her body treacherously arched into him.

"You are wearing too many clothes." He muttered as his hand daftly disposed off her pants while with the other her shirt was gone. And soon she was standing in front of him naked as he was.

Brimming with anticipation she tried once again, half-heartedly "Klaus I am trying to say that…."

"Yes I heard. You think someone tampered with you phone" he muttered as he lifted her up, his mouth closing on hers, her legs wrapping around his waist in the most natural instinct. His tongue danced with hers, her hands cupped his head to anchor him to her, his fingers dug into her waist and bottom at the same time, his teeth bit her lips and she returned the favor. IT was as if he had unleashed something in her. She was wild, the same kind that he loved when they were together. He groaned and resisted, tempting her, teasing her more and more as her center trying to engage his aroused desire. She gave a frustrated groan and bit his lip hard, causing him to wince.

He broke the kiss and look down at her feverish expressions. "Now.. please now.. I need it" muttering the last few words and he impaled her to the hilt. Hayley cried out loud her, head fell back, her body pushing into his as he drew back completely and came back in her again with force that knocked her back, his hold tightening around her waist anchoring her to him while his other hand went on the wall behind her. Hayley lifted her head up, stared at his face, the naked desire, the vulnerability accompanied by desperation today, that only she was privy too, _only during their intimacy._ She touched his face, her fingers linger on his lips, his lips parted and sucked on her finger. A moan of pleasure escaped her mouth as she returned his thrust and matched each and everyone after that. He continued to push her to the edge staring at her face and her eyes started to shut.

"Look at me Hayley. I want to see you when you come."

Her eyes snapped open, as the desire made them dark.

"Come for me Hayley" he whispered while he continued to thrust.

Hayley swept her hands over his shoulder. At the precise moment she felt closest to him, with him buried deep in her, touching the part which only he was privy to for the longest of time. Her hold around him tightened as he brought her to the brink and she shattered all around him and felt that she was falling. His arm kept her up. He continued to keep taking her to the edge and then he let go. Hayley continued to brush her hands on his back to absorb the tremor running through his body as they both breath heavily. He reversed their position now leaning against the cold tiles of the cubicle while she was still wrapped around him breathing heavily. Gently brushing her wet hair out of her forehead, he muttered

"Hayley…"

When she looked up into his eyes, he was lost in them and then out of the fog that had clouded his mind ever since he had pulled her in the shower he remembered what she had said, he separated her from him and asked "you were saying someone else tampered with your phone?"

She said breathlessly, a bit taken aback by him pushing her away from him "yes… yes I…I.." as she slid bonelessly against his body, feeling glad when her feet found a solid ground. The enormity of what just happened between them shook her. She muttered "I wouldn't do that."

"Why not?" He asked as he lifted her chin with his fingers while the hackles on his skin rose as he realized the predicament he was in himself _'could it be a coincidence? Was she using the same defense he had used? But he was telling the truth. What was she up to?'_

"Why would I do that when I have just spend past ten days being miserable about lack of contact from you?" She said frustratingly.

Something very close to emotion flashed in his eyes but they were gone before she could comment on it.

Klaus stared at her sincere, earnest expressions. ' _She really wanted him to believe that. She had told him her reasons to back up her claim unlike someone else, he thought in grimace. Should he believe her. It was crazy but ….'_ He was startled from his thoughts by her asking "do you believe me?"

 _'Maybe.'_ "I understand why you would do that."

"No Klaus" she said with frustration. "Yes I am still mad at you but what you are saying I wouldn't do that. I want us to work and doing what you are saying will not help us work our relationship."

' _It does seem that she wanted to work on their relationship for Hope, even before she knew that he knew about her she was willing to have a relationship with him for Hope. Maybe he should believe her. This is crazy.'_ He told himself again "you have changed your tune about my calling you."

"Yes."

"Why? Day before yesterday you didnt" He challenged her.

To his curious gaze she flushed to the root of her hair while she muttered something.

He asked "what?"

She looked into his eyes and reiterated a bit loudly this time "I checked your cellphone."

"You checked my phone?" He asked with amusement.

"Yes I _did._ " She replied defiantly.

"Okay."

"Just like that."

"yes. Just like that." he replied, tracing a finger down her neck. She was determined to make him believe her and if that was what it took them to take to next step then he was willing to take that.

A shot of pleasure ran through her at his touch. Hayley looked at him, standing naked in front of her, the intimacy between them making her ridiculously possessive about him. _They were husband and wife, still were._ She told herself. _It was alright to be possessive about him._ Suddenly she wanted to trust him as he had been urging her. She trusted him with her body, but the trouble was that she wanted to trust him with their life, their future, their children. At that moment she reminded her treacherous heart of how he had treated her after that horrible night. _Should she just forgive and forget that?_ Without her own accord, her gaze focused on his lips.

When she continued to look at him speculatively he took a step towards her, seeing her biting her lips "Careful…" Klaus muttered, amusement dancing in his eyes "I might get some wrong ideas."

"what if I don't want it to be a wrong idea." She replied thoughtfully.

"So are you willing to give us another chance?"

She said thoughtfully "yes… but…"

"But you still dont believe me about those photos?" He asked once again feeling frustrated that she was not willing to trust him like he was willing to, despite a part of him scolding him for not giving her something to trust him, their relationship was never strong enough for him to ask something this ridiculous from her- blind trust. He almost laughed at his own naivety. He shouldn't be asking her for something without giving her something back. But he couldn't, he didn't have any physical evidence to support his claim and the other thing he couldn't do- he could bare himself to her. But the tiny flicker of hope was there- at least they were talking about it and she was not refusing to listen to him.

"You actually want me to believe that someone tried to sabotage our wedding?"

When she looked down he said "yes. Hayley."

When she looked up he said in an even reasonable tone "we cannot really move on until we solve our past or bury it somewhere deep never to discuss it again."

"I cannot" she said feeling miserable.

Klaus cursed and angrily hit the wall of cubical causing her to jump.

"Where are you going?" He almost shouted as she sneaked toward the cubical door and grabbed her wrist.

"I will not stay in here in this violent mood of yours." She told him defiantly.

He tugged at her wrist, hard enough for her to fall on his still make and slightly wet chest. "We are not leaving this until we come to a decision. Either you believe me or put it behind us?"

"What you are asking is impossible. We cannot just forget about it."

"You were willing to when you were planning to have an affair with me as Hayley. You said that you wanted to work on our relationship not five minutes ago. Now that I want you to work on it you are escaping!" He threw back at her savagely and then cursed as her cheeks flamed.

"Let go of me."

"No" he gritted as he grounded her hip to him.

Hayley bit her lips to stifle the moan escaping from her lips.

His hand griped the back of her had as he felt her tremble, his own desire pushing him over the edge and he said looking down "we were always good in this."

"That is just sex Klaus."

"I know" he gave a heavy sigh "but it was good."

He gently released her head and said "is it so impossible to comprehend the someone other than me could have photoshopped those photos?"

She groaned but controlled the urge to roll her eyes when she noticed his eyes. _What were they saying? Trust me?_

"You want me to believe that someone tampered with your phone but you are not willing to give me that curtesy."

Taken aback by his simple reasoning, she just gaped at him. Her heartbeat started to race and the first sapling of doubt got just planted. "Give one reason why I should."

"We were going to be family." He whispered, his thumb caressing her lower lip.

 _That again!_ as she recalled his desire at one another occasion. _Should she dare to believe him?_ She wondered desperately as she controlled the urge to lick his thumb and then with a helpless moan she just did that.

"Do you believe that I would do something like that to my family?"

"You threw me out." She gasped but didnt stop sucking his thumb which had now found its way in his mouth.

"If it were me naked in a bed making love to some naked woman, what would you have done?"

Her eyes snapped open, a sharp pain hit her, his thumb had stopped seducing her, his hand was cupping her check and chin. _Was that the pain in her eyes?_ He wondered.

"I…"

"Oh.. what am i talking about? Of course you wouldnt have reacted that way." He said angrily as he stepped back from her, his finger raking his wet hair as he bowed his head defeatedly.

Hayley just stared at him, tears looming at the back of her throat. _How could he ask her that and just dismiss her altogether? How did they get here from the tender moment of a minute ago?_

He looked up suddenly and asked "Are you pregnant?"

The question threw her off but before she could school her deceiving expressions, he gritted "and you let me take you so roughly in this cubical."

Suddenly she smiled. _Care. He did once. He does now too._ His eyes had darkened as Hayley watched him, pleasure of a different nature shot through her. _He was happy, she could see it._ "Oh don't be stupid. You know it is very safe, safest right now."

Despite her just confirming her pregnancy, despite the intense pleasure and satisfaction that shot through him, the word hit him hard. Not ever been called stupid by her ever before, made him realize once again how much she had changed. He sighed and said "then we marry."

"Not until…"

Suddenly he was fierce "Hayley I told you that no child of mine will born a bastard."

His expressions were non-compromising and she knew that she has no chance in winning this battle against him but she will try so she said "we are married Klaus."

"Are you willing to reveal your identity?" He asked cocking his eyebrow up.

"No"

"Then we are not." He said and groaned inwards as his body started to wake up again.

Hayley looked at him confused about what she wanted. Just last night she was convinced that was what she wanted. Reminding herself of what was at stake at the moment she firmly said "it will not be a smooth ride Klaus…we have a lot of baggage this time."

"Nothing about you is a smooth ride Eden. Never was and never will be. We will dispense of that baggage as we go." He gritted and picked her up again and she was already wrapping her legs around him, despite the doubts in her heart.

"What is it?" She asked as she noticed his expression when he was deep buried inside her, but not moving after smothering her face with kisses, lots of kisses, kissing each of her injury, bringing her to the verge of tears at each kiss, showing her that he knew, he knew, he cared, he regretted for what had happened to her.

But he didn't answer, his eyes locked with her, they were saying something but she couldn't read, instead he took her with all the passion he had in him, forced her to share her passion. When they stopped breathing against each other, he gently eased her away from her, grabbed a towel, wrapped it round him and then took another towel to wrap it around her and whispered "I am sorry. I was so rough right now. I completely forgot you are carrying our beautiful future."

"I am fine." She muttered against his shoulder, her heart beating out of control at the care in his voice, a care that he used to show her during the last months of her pregnancy, as he walked out of the bathroom and gently laid her in their bed. "so we are getting married… again."

"as soon as we can" He kissed her forehead and got in next to her.

The last thought in her mind was that she still had not told him about her plans about revealing her identity. What she was promised three years ago was within her reach.

While she slept he held on to her, his arm bringing her close to him, his heart very emotional at the thought of her carrying their second child. She looked so young, so vulnerable next to him and he had wronged her so badly. Thinking about how much she must have suffered after the accident as he recalled Dr. Mehta account and herself admitting how she waited for him brought on a strong desire to protect her from any further harm and he hugged her tighter. Looking at her sleeping peacefully next to him, he wondered if he actually believed her about someone tempering with her phone. _Someone obviously did with those photos!_ A logical voice said to him. _But that is stupid, who would do that?_ He wondered in bewilderment. _Someone went to extreme to get the photo from your honeymoon to destroy your marriage!_ _You have to get to the bottom of this if you want to make your marriage work. She was right. This will not be a smooth ride._ _The leap of faith she had taken was only going to last as long as he gives her what she wanted, a proof that he had not photoshopped those photos. But right now, he was wiling to take this, whatever she was giving him if it mean not opening up to her about his feelings._ He was so close to it today as he recalled his question to her. He sighed in frustration at the lack of courage to open up to her, the desire to dismiss everything Mikael had instilled in him by abandoning him. His eyes were tired but his body was content and satiate at-least for now. A smile appeared on his lips as she stirred and her hair, wild hair that she once used to tie in that hideous bun brushed against her arm, a soft warm kiss planted on his chest before she settled down.

* * *

Hayley took a deep breath, washed her face, stood leaning into the vanity, staring at her pale reflection unable to believe what had happened. After such an emotional encounter with the Mikaelsons today to celebrate the company purchase cum their hushed wedding, under the guise of her new identity, coming face to face with Elijah as Eden, realizing from his reaction that she couldnt be any more wrong in her suspicion, this was not how she had expected the evening to end. This was not how she had expected out of the backaches she had been having since morning. After a few minutes realizing that she couldnt stand here all night, she changed her clothes and walked out of the bathroom. He was already in the bed, his laptop opened on his lap. Things have never been better. After that initial shock of him leaving her alone after making glorious love to her on their wedding day, things have gotten back to normal. Despite wanting to, she couldnt satisfy his confusion and misconceptions. The easiest way to dealing was to keep letting him believe that she was still a gold-digger. They both knew where they other stood in their marriage. Apart from that _'little'_ misunderstanding, past two week had been perfect. Klaus had followed up on his promise that he will try to make up for what he did to her. In his own ways, he had managed to convince her that he really cared about her. Recalling the dinner earlier today, she grimaced- if she was not wrong, Elijah had given her a glimpse of what Klaus had gone through after her _death_. Studying him now, she wondered if that was the reason for him not arranging a funeral for her? Was she excusing him? Despite a tiny part of her egging her that Elijah was telling her all this to placate her but she wanted to believe that her death had affected him. Remembering his stilted interaction with Mikael and Esther brought on another grimace. She stood there wondering how did she miss the lack of warmth between Klaus and his parents. She had an idea that their relationship was stilted but it was more than that, she realized from today's experience- Mikael disapproved of Klaus to an extent that was overwhelming even to her. Today she had come to the conclusion that even though she didnt know a lot about Klaus, still, essentially they were both similar- cast offs, abandoned by the people who should have loved them. And if anyone knew better than her that kind of lack of care leaves a big gape in their life. No wonder he never opened up to anything. During these past two weeks how many times she had wondered about his claim about those photos and if she went by the care he was showing for her, she believed him. At night she had even started thinking about his confession to her about loving his wife. Making love to her multiple times, often two or three times a night during the last two weeks had shown her how much he cared about her, even loved her. Her desire to hear that confession was very strong but she knew she couldn't push him for it because he might want to return the favor which at the moment she was not comfortable with.

She rubbed the ring he had give her back on their civil wedding. She smiled at him bravely even though she was crumbling from inside. The cramping in her stomach was making her nauseous. She knew it was all psychological but she could help it. Klaus threw the bedcover aside, patting the bed for her to come in. When his arm went around her stomach resting on her belly, she felt like crying. She told herself that she was jumping the gun when a voice told her to call the doctor. _It was already ten at night. They will have to go to the emergency and they will not deal with her right away since it is not really an emergency. Spotting in early pregnancy were common. But then again twenty five percentage of pregnancies miscarry in the first trimester but she never imagined that it could be her. You are jumping the gun, it is just a spot. Just wait and see how things go. Maybe you should call the doctor before telling him. He is so happy with this pregnancy._ A shiver of anticipation, pleasure ran through her body when she felt his lips against her nape. Despite the heating coiling up in-between her legs, she whispered "I am not feeling well today Klaus. Can we…." her voice choked and he leaned back.

He turned her towards her and noticed the fatigue on her face.

"What is it? Is the baby okay?"

"Yes… yes…Just headache. I am sorry."

"That is fine" he gently pressed his lips against hers. She felt pampered when he tucked her under him, his fingers caressed her still felt stomach under her shirt. Stopping her tears from spilling, not wanting to lose this opportunity to have a different pregnancy than the last time, she welcomed his touch, his caress. She didn't want to lose their child. Last week had been perfect. Finally things were how she had always wanted them to be. Still she had a feeling that trouble was just around the corner.

Klaus looked at her tired face knowing well that she was hiding something but what? The dinner perhaps. He stretched slowly bringing her closer to his body, a current passing through him as he realized with regret how many nights he had unknowingly deprived himself of this pleasure, of knowing her so intimately, of having the opportunity of making love to her multiple times impulsively, of getting tortured by the seduction game they now played more than once since they slept in the bed, another advantage he was realizing soon of sleeping in the same bed. He laughed silently when he realized that two years back after having sex with her, he would go back to his room and missed all the opportunity of venture the love making again. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep but it was nowhere near-the dinner fiasco and Mikael's open hostility was at the back of his mind. In-spite of the biggest success of his life, a realization was strongly dawning on him that he will never be able to prove himself in his eyes. He will always be a bastard for him. What could he do if Dumas was not willing to give major shares to Mikaelsson Corp. Things had changed. When he had started pursuing Dumas he was a Mikealson, a junior partner in Mikealson Corp, now he was CEO of Falcon Industries. Elijah knew what was at stake here. He had known before entering this deal that Klaus will hold major shares and he had gotten that. He was now 60% partner with Elijah 40% in ownership of Cyclone Technologies. There was nothing he could do further to make Mikael approve of him. It was about time to cut his losses. He should stop trying to get Mikael's approval.

* * *

In the meantime, Elijah was pacing in his room thinking about Klaus and Eden. Finally he was starting to see his brother closest to happiness he had ever seen. He was happy and he didnt want anything to be ruined for him but deep inside he was feeling hollow for some reason. Remembering how he had felt for Hayley before he had known, lusting after his brother's wife was sometime that he never ever wanted to remember. He startled when he heard a knock at the door. He walked to it and opened it. Seeing Rebekah standing there he said "come in."

"So congratulations on acquiring the company. I am sorry I missed the dinner."

"That is fine. How did your thing… what was it again?"

"Oh I…"

"You are upset with Niklaus getting married to Hayley."

"Yes I am… how could he? Rumors about her and Ansel…."

Elijah at once interrupted her "Rebekah. You don't know what you are talking about."

"Camille loved him and he broke her heart for the second time."

"They were never meant to be. Niklaus loves … his wife. He is happy in fact."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course i am sure."

"Okay." she shrugged her shoulder, still looking unconvinced "anyways while you were in London, someone came to visit you."

"Who?" He asked

"Her name was Gia Thomas. She wanted to meet you. I asked her to leave her number but she said that she will contact you herself. I forgot it. Sorry. Good night."

Kissing Elijah on his cheek she left whereas Elijah shook his head as he tried to recall who Gia could be but nothing was coming in mind?

* * *

Next morning when he woke up, she was fast asleep. He kissed her at her temple causing her to stir. He whispered "how is your headache?"

"Much better." She turned towards him with sleepy eyes. "I am sorry about last night."

Something in her eyes told him that she was not talking about her headache. Not wanting to discuss that disastrous dinner he said "I wish I could stay in the bed with you. I am meeting Elijah today about Cyclone Technologies. There are a lot things still to figure out."

"That is okay."

"I will be late today."

He kissed her full on her lips and said "go back to sleep."

The day was filled with meetings and conferences so by the time he left to meet Elijah, he said to Kara "I am done with you today. It got really late today and you are not feeling well also"

"No problem Mr. Mikealson"

"You need to rest. You being sick is not any help to me."

Kara smiled, touched his arm and said "thank you" and left.

Two hours later, Klaus stretched his arms when he left the restaurant after the meeting with Elijah. He wanted to reach home but it was going to take him an hour to get to home. Feeling glad that he had brought on his driver, he said "home, Henry."

He was starting to get in his car when he heard someone say "excuse me."

When he turned around a young girl said sounding very very excited "you are Niklaus!"

"Yes" he looked the red head who couldn't be more than twenty five.

"Oh I cannot believe that I finally got to meet you."

"I am sorry miss. I think there has been some confusion."

"Not at all. I am your wife's best friend."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Every time I asked her to meet you she would make an excuse. Now I have met you and…I have to tell you that picture of you does not do you justice at all." she winked at him and then smiled looking at her watch "I have to go but I cannot wait to tell her."

During the drive home he felt really irritated and confused at Hayley for not telling him that she had shared her identity and their marriage with someone. By the time he entered Haven, he wanted to ask her why would she tell anyone about her when she had been so adamant about it before. _Could they not even agree on one simple thing? Why didnt she confide in him?_ The moment he entered the house and Joseph took his bag from him, he knew that something was different. Having a feeling for foreboding he climbed the stairs and peeking into Hope's room he noticed Mia changing her clothes. He walked to her, kissed Hope and asked "where is Mrs. Mikaelson?" surprised that she was not doing the task since she had been doing that for the past two weeks.

"She is resting."

"But it is only seven." He said as he looked at his watch.

When Mia averted her gaze from his, he headed towards his room, his heart rate was racing. Something was wrong, his gut was telling him that. He pushed open the bedroom door and studied Hayley sleeping.

He walked towards her and sat next to her causing her to stir.

Hayley felt him before he asked "I didnt mean to wake you up."

"No, it is okay. I had to get up." She scooted herself in sitting position.

"What is it? Is it the headache you were having last night."

She shook her head and said "no. Its … Klaus I have to tell you something."

"What?" he asked, his panic was rising but he kept it under control for her sake.

"Klaus yesterday … I was bleeding…"

Seeing him panic she continued "actually I was spotting so I went to see my gynecologist today. She did the ultrasound. I am still pregnant." She held his hand and squeezed it "but I am still spotting. She thinks that if it stops in a couple of days, everything will be fine but if …."

"But if what?"

"If it becomes heavy … I will know."

"Can something be done?"

"No. Just bedrest."

"Okay then." He stood up abruptly and wiped his face, in efforts of hiding his internal turmoil, the thoughts that had been plaguing him during the drive home have forgotten. They couldnt lose their child. _If they lose it, maybe you will lose her too._ _She thinks that you wanted to marry her again for their new child, for Hope._ They still had not admitted to themselves how they felt about each other. They were just trying to establish a normal happy life for Hope "that is what you are doing then. Bedrest. For our child."

"I will do that Klaus but we should prepare ourselves. Miscarriages in early pregnancies are really common."

"No I will not prepare myself for anything. But I will promise you that whatever happens we will deal with it."

"Thanks."

"Where do you think you are going?" He asked when he saw her getting out of bed.

"To the bathroom" she said "and then to tuck Hope in."

"I can tuck Hope in and…" he scooped her up and carried her to the bathroom.

"When you are done, just call me."

After using restroom, she fixed herself and then started to leave the bathroom but then remembered his order and the strong desire for a shoulder to lean onto, she called him "Klaus…"

A moment later she was in his arms. As he walked her back to their bed, she had her hand on his chest and he hoped she could read how he felt for her. He wanted to confess to her but suddenly he was sacred of being rejected. _"A man is never vulnerable. No one will think of you highly if you bare yourself to them."_ His father's voice was like a poison to him.

 ** _Flashback Klaus_**

 ** _Two weeks ago : Wedding night_**

 _He could feel her fingernails scrapping his back and he knew that he would have scars there but he was on high right now. She felt so wonderful around him pulsating her release, her lips on his shoulder pressing the most sweetest kiss they had ever shared. He was on the verge of his own release but he wanted to give her one more before coming home so he rolled them over and she was on top, the view always welcoming. "you have no idea how much I have missed seeing your hair covering your body like this. I love it that you dont tie them anymore in that hideous bun of yours" he cupped his hands on the indentation of her waist as he settled her on him again and started to thrust in her. Hayley pressed her hands on his chest and returned every thrust of his with the passion that always excited him. And within moments she shattered once again and fell on him, her head going down on his chest and she muttered "come inside me Klaus.. Now" and he let go with a primal growl of her name._

 _He continued to soothe her trembling body wrapped around his torso and finally he twisted, bringing her down to the bed until her back was resting on it but he didnt let her go. He was feeling all sort of emotion as his fingers roamed on her bare shoulder, sliding down to her curve of her breast, to the indentation of still flat stomach and rest on the hip. It was mere hours after their civil ceremony but it felt right as if past two years never happened. He grabbed her fingers when they slid to his chest, brought them to his lips and kissed them, feeling the ring on her ring finger. A smile tucked at his lips as he remembered how her eyes had brimmed when he had slipped her wedding ring in her ring finger. "You kept it."_

 _"I found it in Ansel's vault with other things which led me to you. Why did you return it?"_

 _"I… I don't know. Maybe I was hoping one day I will get it back." She had muttered looking at her ring._

 _He startled when she said "Klaus I was thinking if it is a boy we can reveal my identity."_

 _"What about your father….oh" it dawned on him, finally. She will still the same. The bloody gold digger. Nothing had really changed. He gently separated himself from her, a dread setting at the pit of his stomach_

 _She looked at him through veiled expressions and said "if it is a boy then we can truly get rid of him once and for all."_

 _"We are truly ridden of him right now" he gritted wanting to strangle her. "Why dont you just admit that you still want your money? I have always had respect for that aspect of your personality. At least you were being honest."_

 _For a fraction of second he wondered if he just witnessed hurt on her face but it was gone before he could comment or even ponder on it. "if that is what you want then it is up to you."_

 _Saying that he got out of the bed and dashed to the bathroom to drown himself in cold water to quench the thirst he still had for her, half wishing that they never had this child, if that is what she was going to do every time she got pregnant._

 ** _End flashback._**

How he regretted those thoughts now as he laid down next to her, her head resting in the nook of his one arm while the fingers of his other hand sprayed on her abdomen, hoping that their child was strong and was fighting for its survival.

Next day Hayley walked into Hope's room, a smile on her lips, despite the dread in her stomach. She had rested for couple of hours after he had left for the office but now she was tired of lying down. She had to practically twist Klaus's arm to send him to the office. Never ever she had imagined that she would see a day when Klaus would be resisting going to the office. She was folding Hope's laundry when Mia entered the room and asked "oh Mrs. Mikaelson let me." She dashed to her and started to take the clothes from her when Hayley said "I am fine Mia. I need something to do."

Hearing Mrs. Mikaelson once again sounded so good, she realized.

"You should rest. How about I bring Hope to your room after she wakes up and some snack for both of you?"

 _Mia was a good choice. She reminded her of Danni._ Hayley smiled but said "how about you bring these clothes to my room. I can fold them while resting."

Mia smiled and said "sure Mrs. Mikaelson."

Hayley smelled Hope's tinny socks, her heart breaking at all those lost times, dread settling at the thought of losing her unborn child. She had not spotted since morning but you never know about these things so she was not going to get her hopes up. She realized that she was crying when she felt a drop fell on her hand as she was clutching Hope's sweater to her chest. She hastily wiped her tears when her phone rang.

Seeing Danni's names brought on a familiar panic. _Hannah. Something had happened to her. Danni wouldnt have called her if there was no emergency._

"Danni everything alright?" She asked as soon as the call connected.

Danni said sounding worried "Princess, it is Hannah. She is in hospital. She has gotten meningitis and is hospitalized. I… I thought I should tell you."

She stood up at once and said in a composed voice when she was panicking from inside as she tried to recall what meningitis was all about but was drawing blank. The only thing that she could think of was Hannah needed her. "I will be there. Just be there for her."

"Princess but…."

"Don't worry about it. I will be there. I will take red eye if I have to."

She hastily walked to the walking closet and started taking out her clothes feeling extremely guilty for not getting in touch with Hannah before today. If something happened to her then she would never forgive herself. She could lose Hannah now that she was so close to getting what she needed. She looked towards the door when she heard Mia asking sounding worried "Mrs. Mikaelson, is everything okay?"

And she realized that she was once again crying. _Must be the hormones._

She said wiping her tears "yes.. no. Hey baby" as Mia put now awake Hope on the ground and she walked towards her. It was as it should have been, past two years were a terrible dream and she wanted to forget them but she was realizing that past two years will always remain huge part of her life.

"Mommy going somewhere?"

Everything she called her that, her heart would fill with intense love for her.

Hayley knelt down near Hope and said "mommy has to go on a trip."

"Mommy no leave Hope." She cried as of expected of her, clinging to Hayley.

Hayley swallowed the thickness in her throat and said "I promise mommy will be back soon. Mia can you please bring Hope's milk."

"Sure Mrs. Mikaelson." studying her carrying Hope to the bed.

After she left Hayley settled Hope on the bed and opened her laptop. Within minutes she had a one way seat to New York at eight in the evening. She was not coming back until Hannah felt better. Her clothes forgotten on the bed, she focused her attention to Hope looking at her with her big hazel brown eyes. She picked her up, even though the doctors had forbidden her to lift weights but there was so much precaution she could take. After all she had a daughter who needed her right now. She snuggled Hope close to her and whispered soothingly against her ear "mommy loves you very much but there is someone who needs mommy very much right now. Do you think mommy should help her?"

When Hope nodded Hayley sobbed into her hair. "I promise I will be back soon. You need to take care of daddy for me when I am gone. Can you do that for me Hope?"

Hope just stared at her and Hayley sighed with love. What did she expect from a two year old. For the next couple of hours she tried to engage Hope in toys and books and to her relief Hope soon forgot about her mother's trip.

"What do you think you are doing?" Klaus asked as he saw her putting clothes in the bag. "Klaus I have to go to New York. Hannah is sick. She is hospitalized. Danni called. She has meningitis." She strolled over to the walking closet to get some more undergarments.

He felt his heart jump into his throat. _She was going?_

"Hayley, you cannot go. You are already bleeding and meningitis is highly contagious."

"Klaus I have to go. She needs me. I have not bled since morning but if I am to lose this baby then I will regardless of if I stay here or not."

"She has your father and she has the nanny. She is also admitted in the hospital where you can catch any disease."

"Klaus I have to."

"What about Hope? She has hardly gotten used to having you back in her life."

"Hope has you. Hope has people who love her. The new nanny."

"Hayley you cannot go." He told her harshly.

"I cannot stay back. I cannot leave her alone Klaus."

"Give me one good reason why should you go in such a condition?" He asked in frustration.

One good reason! She turned towards him and said "you want one good reason?"

When he nodded curtly she said "Hannah is not my sister… She is… She is my daughter. Is that good enough for you?"

* * *

 ** _A/N: So yeah Venetian you were right :). Hannah is Hayley's daughter and I am sur you can guess who the father was/is._**

 ** _Thoughts? Yay one more chapter. Hope you all liked it. Their confrontation in the shower. I loved writing that but of course it is not full confrontation. There is more to come in addition to this new development._**


	21. Unveiling - 3

**_A/N: Clavel It was not Gia whom Klaus met. Just keep on reading. Maybe you can guess from this chapter. td, my intention was people to not guess who Hannah really was. I tried to keep her and Hayley's relationship secret, plot twist, but it was impossible for the suspicion to throw out if I had to write down those flashbacks about the contract and that I really wanted to do. Everyone else thanks for the wonderful comments and I am so glad that for some of you, Hayley being Hannah's mom, turned out to be twist. :)_**

 ** _So it seems I was wrong. There is one more chapter after this one. I really have to control the length of the one had turned out to be pretty long chapter, it was longer before so I had to cut it short. I hope everyone got to read till the end. If not, do tell. I can post the chapter again in two parts._**

 ** _Synopsis: Klaus and Hayley go visit Hannah in New York, followed by some life altering decisions. Someone from Elijah's past enters his life altering it forever in the sense he had never imagined. Klaus makes an important decision with regard to Hannah and Hayley._**

* * *

He stilled, gaping at her, wondering if he had heard her correct, trying to concentrate when she asked him again "is that good enough for you?"

As soon as the words were out, her mind registered to them and she started trembling. For the first time ever she had acknowledged openly to someone that Hannah was her daughter, apart from of course to the father of her child- that subject and that ownership was taboo in her house even though Danni knew about her true relationship with Hannah. She looked down and realized that her hands were shaking. Gulping her breath, wondering what was going on in his head, wondering about the consequences of breaking the promise she had once made to her father, she picked up her bag but another set of long fingers were taking it away from her.

Klaus still in shock on autopilot took the bag from her firm grip and sat her down on the bed. His mind was running wild, trying to process this revelation. "Run pass that by me again."

She looked up and stared directly into his eyes and he noticed how vain they looked. For the first time since she had come back he saw the same shadows of sadness that he had witnessed many times during their marriage. In the past he had attributed them to be the result of being forced into this marriage but now he wondered.

"You left her." The words escaped his lips, a sharp pain hit him. _Abandoned. Just like him._ At the same moment the desire to lash out at for hiding such a life altering secret was so strong and straining to come out of its confinement that he had to physically take couple of steps back to control his temper.

Hayley lost all her coloring at those cruel words and of it's own accord her hand landed on his stubbled cheek with a loud smack. She gritted "I have a flight to catch."

He too gritted, the anger boiling within him "you shouldnt be traveling in this condition."

"I am not staying here." She responded determinedly.

"Let me rephrase it. _You are not going especially in this condition._ "

"Nothing is wrong with me Klaus." She shouted back this time, frustration and worry making her edgy.

 _"Lower you voice._ Hope will wake up. And you are not fine. You are shivering and you are cold and you are spotting." Despite the anger and the pain of deception launched in the cavity of his chest, he grabbed the throw and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"I have a flight to catch at eight tonight." She said again as if she had not even listen to him.

He studied her stillness, the expression and wondered if she was in shock.

Feeling frustrated, angry, desperately trying to get hold of this situation, he took his cell out of his pant's pocket and dialed a number as he walked out of the room.

Hayley just remained seated at the edge of the bed staring at her empty hands.

' _What had she done? Her father, he will destroy her._ _That was the deal between them. She was never to embarrass him_.'

She abruptly stood up and told herself that she was not that girl anymore. There was nothing he could do to harm her. Her relationship with Klaus was at a different place this time. He cared about her. He wouldn't be petty about this.

 _Hannah is her daughter._ She told herself fiercely and sobbed for not being able to stand for her rights before. She had reached the door when he came back "lets go."

"Are you coming?" _Was that the hope in her tone?_ she thought in self-disgust.

"I am not letting you face your father alone. No doubt he will be there." He gritted. She could see he was angry so she just bit her lips and protested "Hope needs you. Mia is nice but she is new. I want you to stay with her."

"Joseph is here and I have asked Rebekah to come over."

"Oh. What did you tell her?" She asked, panicking that he had revealed her secret.

"If you mean I told her your secret then no. I didnt." She waited for him to ask her, to accuse her of not telling him about her secret but to her dismay or relief, she didnt know what, he didnt.

The drive to the airport was so quiet that she was started to get nervous. He was brooding, she knew that but she was too worried about Hannah not to mention the risk of exposing their unborn child to the disease. She turned towards him and asked "has Rebekah reached home?" _'How naturally the word home had starting slipping from her lips this time around when once, two years back to be exact, she hesitated calling Haven as her home.'_

"Yes" He responded without looking towards her. "She just texted me."

"Thanks." That was all she could say after hiding something this huge from him and him taking everything in stride.

For Klaus it was getting harder and harder to remain quiet. The image of Hannah's breakdown when he had first met her when she was talking about Eden was haunting his mind. He turned towards her and said "she does not know." A simple statement with accusation in his tone.

"No." Hayley whispered. "My father… he didnt want me to tell her. That was the condition."

"Of?"

"To …. to let me back in the house."

Shocked at yet another revelation, he wanted to shout at her but he just looked at her. And suddenly she said "I am not a whore, you know."

"I have never called you by that. You yourself label yourself with that."

When she kept quiet he couldnt take the silence, the suspense, more secrets anymore and bursted "so… tell me."

Hayley started talking still gazing out of the window in the dark "My father never approved of me. He wanted a son and unfortunately for him I was not. My mother had died after giving birth to me so it was only him in my life. I tried to be a son to get his approval which backfired. I became a tomboy. I rebelled at everything to get his attention. Jackson…" missing Klaus startled look and clenched jaw she contained "He was a family friend since we were kids. He was a few years older than me but he was always nice to me. His whole family was very nice to me. I always wondered how could my father be friends with Mr. Kenner. I was rebelling against my father and he was upset with his. His father had just made a business deal with a friend and he was the sacrifice" She passed for a moment and then continued to clarify even though she had her face turned away from Klaus and couldnt see the confusion on his face "the amalgamation of two companies through marriages of their kids. Long story short, we both were unhappy with our fathers so we found solace in each other arms and one thing led to another and.… Ironically that was not the end of my rebellion. I wanted to show him that I can do anything so I told him" She gave a harsh laugh "I told him and he blew his fuse. That was the day I finally came to realize that I will never able to get his approval. I will never be the son he wanted."

"What did he do?" When she stopped talking, Klaus asked, fear gripped his heart. Something telling him that worst was still to come. Could Emerson be the kind of man who hurt his kid physically? He wondered.

Hayley smiled sadly but without looking towards him continued bitterly "he kicked me out of the house. It was late in the night and he just kicked me out without even giving into considering where I would go so late at night." She paused and glanced at him and Klaus felt as if someone had stamped on his heart and crushed it into millions of pieces. _Guilt and regrets. There were no amount of words that could earn him forgiveness from her._ She again looked away and continued "Finally my wish came true but I had nothing to live on. It was late night so I just got a room in a motel. I had planned to skip town the next morning but he was a step ahead of me. He cancelled all my credit cards the very next day before I could use them. Luckily Danni unknown to my father, had given me some money when he had kicked me out. I skipped town. Despite what happened, I was happy to be finally out of my father's life after accepting my real position in his life. I got a job in a grocery store as a checker. Life was good. I was enjoying it for the first time despite me often not having proper food to eat. Jackson was my first time. It didnt even occur to me so I missed the signs. I was already three months pregnant when I discovered about my pregnancy. I couldnt go to Jackson. During this time, his engagement had been finalized. Whatever circumstances of his marriage, I couldnt ruin his future. After Hannah was born three weeks before her due date, I had to stop working for a while. I tried to work it out but couldnt so when she was only four months I went back to my father, for my four month old baby. He took me in with the condition that I will never tell anyone that I had embarrassed him like that and if I ever retaliate he will throw me out with Hannah. Hannah will grow up to be his child. He threatened me that if ever embarrassed him by telling anyone about Hannah's true parentage he will ruin Jackson. Jackson was a friend, a really good friend. He was married by then. I didnt want to ruin his life so I signed a document for him."

Finally she looked towards him. Klaus ignored he strong urge to wrap his arm around her to comfort her, control the urge to fly to her father's home strangle him.

"No one knows that she is your daughter."

"Danni knows. She raised me from the day I was born. …"

"But that was not the end?" Klaus stated.

"No." Hayley gave a humorless laugh "My father still wanted to have a son to carry on his name. It didnt mater to him a son was his directly or in his line. When he told me about this marriage deal with you, finally I had something that he needed and he had something I needed." She lifted her chin slightly in defiance.

"Dont forget your five million dollars." He said bitterly.

Hayley bit her lips and looked away, once again blindly staring out of the window and it dawned on him.

He pursed his lips and said curtly "there were never any money."

"No" she looked back at him again and said defiantly. "I had to give you something to hold onto to not dwell into the real reasons for marrying you. So you see I married to get my daughter back just like you married me for your father. You and I.. we are not that dissimilar. I am not the whore you think I am. Apart from jackson, I have never been with anyone."

"I never called you by that name. You yourself call yourself by that." He paused for a moment seeing her wandering eyes and then it hit him "let me guess. This _endearment_ " his mouth twisted in disgust "you use for yourself was given to you by your father."

She felt exhausted after all this revelation and closed her eyes.

Klaus just looked at her tired face and recalled all those times when he had called her a gold-digger and she had not bothered to correct him. He suddenly was furious with her more than he was when she had told him about Hannah. She had bend backwards to make him think that she was nothing but a gold-digger. A tiny voice protested _"and you were more than willing to see her that way. If you were not you would have seen that she was not. In almost a year she lived with you, there was no proof that she loved money. She didnt ask you for those credit cards or those fancy dresses. During their marriage in fact she lived on frugal expenses. She even return her ring."_

He squeezed his eyes shut in self- disgust. There was signs yet he had ignored them. _He had ignored them because she made him do that._ He told himself, turned away from her angrily. _'Why was she so desperate to make him think that bad about him?'_ He wondered furiously. Hayley kept her eyes closed and after sometime she felt like drifting but his voice brought him back.

"Why didnt you tell me?" He couldnt help but ask even though he had an idea but maybe asking will soothe his own guilt for thinking so wrong of her.

"Give me a break Klaus. We didnt have that kind of relationship." She gave him an anguish look finally opening her eyes.

 _"Dont say that. You could have.. damn it Eden… you let me believe…"_ he was so angry that he couldnt even convey what he wanted to say without feeing guilty.

Hayley startled awake when she felt a gentle nudge. She opened her eyes, feeling extremely tired but as soon as she became fully awake, she remembered everything. Hannah! She had told Klaus everything. She panicked. . She picked up her purse and got out of the car. Looking around she realized that they were at the airport.

At the check out counter, he said "wait for me here. I have to get my ticket."

"Klaus, you don't have to go with me." Hayley said half-heartedly, hoping that he will not listen to her.

When he didn't answer and walked away, she just bit her lips.

After purchasing his ticket, transferring Hayley's to first class, he checked her overnight bag and returned to her. He stopped in his tract when he saw her biting lips, her hand on her stomach, her eyes downcast. She was worried, he could see even from that distance. At that moment he desperately wished that he had given her a reason to trust her but he had not. His heart contracted for her despite the anger as he witnessed her swiping her hand over her eyes and he realized that she was crying. He shook his head, took a deep breath and said walked to her "lets go."

She looked at his face and said "Klaus I…"

"Hayley I dont want to talk right now. We have to go" he said and started walking towards the security check leaving her behind to follow.

Hayley didnt know how she passed next couple of hours but by the time they landed in New York she was bone tired and worried to no extent. When he ushered her to the waiting car, she realized that she had walked through the whole process of exiting the plane, walked through the airport to reach their car on autopilot.

He looked calm and in control of situation but she knew this clam was just like storm waiting to lash out "Where is she admitted?"

"Central Medic" she mumbled.

Klaus bit his lips as he recalled the worst call of his night so clearly as if happened yesterday not two years ago.

"Alright then. It is late right now. We will go to the hotel and rest there. In the morning we will go visit her but you listen to me first." His tone suddenly became uncompromising. Ignoring her raised inquisitive eyebrows, tension etched on her tired face, he continued "You listen to the doctor about the precaution you have to take to see Hannah. If you…"

"If I what?" she challenged him. The tension in her wanting to snap at everything. The deja vu of her rebellion tactics with her father shook her and she shrank within. _She couldnt go there. She couldnt make mistakes again._ She told herself.

"If you step one toe out of line, You are going back." He gritted in the same uncompromising tone.

"Like Hell I am " she snapped.

"Try me." He said in a voice that she would gladly trade any day with him shouting.

She turned away from him to stare out of the window to stare at the dark sky with gritty eyes from the lack of proper sleep while Klaus instructed the driver to take him to Azure.

She was so tired and dazed not to mentioned depressed that she was unable to see Hannah right now that by the time they reached the penthouse of the hotel she just wanted to sleep. She walked through the elegant room towards the bathroom totally oblivious to the plush surroundings of the penthouse but then stopped and said to him "Can you… can you call Rebekah and ask her about Hope. I think I will go take s shower" He just stared at her as she went looking in search of the restrooms, at her concern, his heart went out of her despite the anger and resentment building in him but he nodded and taking out his cell.

He rubbed his brows after get confirmation from Rebekah that Hope was still sleeping. Thinking about Hayley despite his anger at her, concerned that she might have gotten sick inside the bathroom, he reached the bathroom door but at that exact moment it opened and she came out wearing a white plush robe. One look on her face and he knew, for some reason he knew and his heart squeezed in the cavity of his chest.

"What is it?"

When she averted her gaze, he cursed and said "that is why I didnt want you to come."

Seeing defiance on her face he grabbed her arm tightly and hissed "are you _trying_ to lose this baby?" Hayley blanched at his question and wanted to lash out.

He wiped his face and then said "you should rest and I…" _'I need to figure out what to do to get out of this mess'_ He told himself silently.

To his relief she nodded and strolled towards the bed.

Facing towards the wall she continued to stare it for a long time before finally drifting to sleeping, knowing well that he had not come to bed, for the first time in the last two week ever since they had gotten back together.

Fighting the impulse to go to her and comfort her, he just stood at the threshold of the room. She could suffer for a while, he thought angrily despite a voice guilt tripping him of her condition. Unable to go and lie down next to her even though he was beat himself, he walked out of the room to the attached sitting area. After pacing for a while thinking about their marriage, her intention of revealing her identity to her father if they are having a boy everything was making sense now. Now that he knew the reason behind it, he knew that he had to do something about it. He couldnt let Hannah and her suffer any more. Both of them didnt deserve this. Hannah didnt deserve to be abandoned. He was still furious with her for letting him believe the worst about her but he was not going to make her suffer anymore. Just thinking about what she was already going through when she had that accident and their unfortunate incidence two years ago brought on anguish, so hard that he felt like snatching his own hair. He squeezed his eyes shut as it hit hm so hard the enormity of the wrong done to her by her father and by him. She was not innocent in all of this. If only she had shared with him. How could she? Your relationship really didnt allow her to do so. Anyway right now you have to right the wrong. He told himself. After some debate with himself he picked up his cell and dialed Ben's number not even giving a second thought to the time or the possibility that he might be unavailable. He paid Ben well and he expected great service at all times. Ignoring his sleepy voice, not even bothering to apologize fro calling at such a late time he told him everything. When he was done Ben said "she is her mother so she has all the right in the world. We can fight that case and easily win the custody."

Klaus said "Great I will let you know in the morning."

Saying that he put the phone down and then after checking his emails he too went to the bed. Sleep was starting to take control so he walked to the bed, shed his clothes and laid down next to her. Making sure that he does not disturb her, he pulled the comforter to cover her. He wanted to wrap his arm around her, bring her close to him, engulf her in the warmth of his body like he had been doing for the past two weeks but he was angry, he was annoyed and feeling cut off so he turned away form her and closed his eyes.

At sometime during his sleep he felt strange and before even opening his eyes he knew her arms were around him. He stared down at her hand resting on his stomach, controlled the urge to free himself of her grip and closed his eyes again. Next when his eyes opened the hand around him was gone. He looked around sleepily because she rarely got up before him. His eyes immediately spotted her, all dressed up and pacing the room. After studying the tension oozing out of her body he asked "how are you feeling?"

Their gaze met and she nodded, a nod of reassurance but it didnt serve its purpose, his heart was in the perpetual state of panic.

"I am going to see Hannah." She said as she started towards the door.

"No." He said sharply and brushed his hair out of his forehead.

Hayley spun towards him angrily "you cannot stop me from going to see my daughter. You dont have any right on Hannah."

Klaus stared at her angrily and then jumped out of the bed and gritted "I am going to change. You order something for breakfast! The menu is on the table."

Hayley stood there fuming at herself, at him, at herself for losing her temper at him. Dejectedly she walked to the phone and order some sandwiches for both of them.

Ten minutes later, Klaus was out dressed in jeans and shirt which she wondered where he had gotten from but then she shook her head telling herself that it was unimportant.

"Kara called." She told him curtly.

"what did she say?"

"I didnt ask." She said angrily

Klaus bit his tongue before he could say anything while Hayley walked towards the front door to get the room service.

Klaus dialed Kara's number. As soon as the call connected he said "Kara, how are you feeling?"

A hiss made him turn and seeing Hayley leaving the room brought on a sigh. He said "I had to come to New York for some personal reason. I will be back as soon as I can. I had a scheduled meeting with Utopia protect team later today. Handle that and fax me the documents I need to take care of to my suite fax in New York and oh… get ….Stefan and tell him to go ahead with the deal. Call Elijah and tell him we had to come to New York so I wouldnt be able to go to the board of directors meeting for Cyclone."

She replied "yes Mr. Mikaelson. Is everything alright?"

"yes." He said and looked up when he heard the front door close. He at once hurried towards it and yanked it open just to see Hayley standing outside the elevator waiting for it, tapping her foot impatiently on the ground.

He gritted "I will call you back, Kara" and cut off before listening to the other side.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the open door of elevator and gritted "come eat your breakfast."

"Let go of me." She tried to push him away.

He spun her towards him angrily and then cursed as he recalled her condition "do you want to see Hannah?"

When she glared at him understanding his unvoiced threat, he presented her the glass of orange juice and hissed "eat that bread and egg too. And keep your temper down. You shouldn't be overwhelming yourself. Dont forget that you are carrying our child."

"I am not forgetting it." She muttered. "I just want to go see Hannah."

He sighed and said "I am going to check on Hope and then we will leave."

Finally around nine when they reached the desired floor after getting the information from the front desk. Hayley immediately spotted Danni sitting in the waiting room.

Klaus said "I will ask around for her doctor."

"Okay" she replied. She walked to her and said "Danni."

Danni, lost in thoughts looking worried, looked up and at once stood up, her face lit with happiness. "Princess, you came."

She took Hayley in her big bulky arms and let her absorb that maternal warmth which Hayley was used to from her childhood. It has been one and half year since last time she had seen Danni when she had gone to try to get nanny position for Hannah before coming to Mystic Falls.

"How is she?' Hayley whispered still hugging her.

"Sleeping. She has fever which they are trying to keep down with medicines. I have been waiting for you. I have to go home now."

"Where is daddy?" Hayley asked.

"He is in California on business." Danni said, looking all of a sudden angry.

"Has he come to see her?"

No." She replied.

"Okay. Thanks for being here for her. I am here now so you dont have to come unless you want you. And please keep me informed of daddy's whereabouts." She kissed her aging cheek and stepped back.

Half an hour later, Klaus being Klaus had located the on call doctor and explained to him his relationship with Hannah. Now Hayley was sitting in his room talking about her pregnancy and the complication. She was getting furious by the minutes as the doctor told her about the precautions and took her history about the vaccinations. She wanted to go see Hannah. She was getting closer to murdering her husband and the doctor who were delaying her from seeing her daughter. But they wanted to make sure that even though the baby was quiet safe from the disease itself but she was not so much. When they were done with her, the doctor told Hayley about the complications and the treatment procedure and she felt her heart fell, her fingers tightened around the armrest. She didnt have to look at Klaus to know how worried he was.

While she was donning on the robes and mask as instructed by the doctor, the nurse said ""she woke up a while ago."

"How is she feeling?" Hayley asked with her eyes on Hannah.

"She has pains of course. The doctor has taken off the IV. She talked so that is a good sign. We just have to monitor her. You can go in but you Mrs. Mikaelson have to take care not to be in too much contact."

Hayley cursed under her breath but seeing Klaus steely warning, she nodded.

When they both entered the room Hannah turned her face towards them. Recognition shot through her eyes.

Hayley controlled the urge to launch herself at her daughter. She had grown up so much. Her heart swelled with pride at how beautiful she was. At the same time missing two years of her life, everything, hit her heart and she felt a heavy feeling in her throat. With Klaus carefully and cautiously she walked to Hannah's bed.

The little girl smiled despite the apparent confusion on her face at seeing a person dressed in gown and mask. "Mr. Mikaelson!"

"Hannah. How are you feeling?"

"I am tired and my head hurts."

"Where?" Hayley asked at once. She impulsively grabbed Hannah slender hand cursing the doctor for putting this barrier of gloves between them to hinder the skin contact.

Hannah looked at her suspiciously and then her gaze went to their linked hands. She tried to free them which she managed to do so and her eyes darted to Klaus who said "Hannah, this is my wife Hayley."

"You married again?" The girl's voice to Hayley's dismay was full of hurt.

"Yes, Hannah." Klaus replied gently.

"Why? Dont you love my sister anymore?" Hannah asked in a soft voice, her face reflecting anxiety, without looking towards Hayley who flinched.

Klaus gave her a grim smile and then seeing Hayley's expression he asked "of course I still love your sister. Tell me where are you hurting?"

Hayley's heart skipped a beat the smile Hannah gave Klaus at that reassurance. Feeling grateful for saying an outrageous lie for Hannah's sake, her eyes brimmed with unshed tears.

"over here" Hannah touched the back of her neck.

This time it was Hayley who replied feeling very anxious and left out. "Dont worry baby. The doctors will give you medicines."

Hearing the same endearment she used for Hope brought on a lump in his throat. He cleared his throat and said "I will be back but until then why dont you talk to Hayley, Hannah."

To Hayley's surprise he leaned forward and whispered something in Hannah's ear that made the little girl smile widen.

As he leaned back from the bed, the expression on his face made Hayley fell in love all over again with the man who was her husband, still was.

Their eyes met for a moment before he said "you should sit down." Saying that he brought the chair near the bed and then left the room.

Hayley just stared at Hannah, her fingers itching to touch her but she didn't want to scare her so she just sat in her chair looking at Hannah anxiously. Now that she was here, her anxiety had steamed down but not completely gone.

While Klaus was pacing the corridor giving Hayley and Hannah time to catch up or break the ice, Hayley said to Hannah after clearing her throat. _Why was she nervous? Damn it_! "so apart from your neck where are you hurting?"

"No." After a short pause she asked "Did you know my sister?"

"I… I didnt but Klaus told me about her. She sounds fun."

"She has died" Hannah said softly.

"Oh I am sorry. Yes I know. I shouldnt have said _sounds_." After slight pause she asked hesitantly "do you remember her?"

"A little bit." Hannah said sounding tired all of a sudden. "I have a picture of her and Mr. Mikealson says that as long as I remember her she is alive to me."

Hayley's heart broke listening to this despite going out for Klaus for saying such a wonderful thing to Hannah. None of her kids knew her. She stifled the sob and said "I am glad that you have that picture of her. But you should rest now."

Hannah said weakly "okay" and then opened her eyes again and asked "is my daddy here?"

Hayley gulped and said "no sweetie… He had to go on a business so he couldnt come see you."

When Hannah didnt say anything she asked, was she probing "are you disappointed?"

"No" she said as she closed her eyes.

When Klaus peeked into the room, he took a sigh of relief when he noticed her eyes closed and apparently sleeping. He walked to the closet near the bed and took out a blanket and put it on her and went out again. He had a business to run. For the next couple of hours he was on call with a few of his clients online after locating a room with wifi available. After his last call he collected a cup of coffee from the vending machine, winced at the taste, threw it in the bin and headed back to Hannah' room to check on Hayley. He closed the door softly behind him and walked into the room. Seeing her standing standing near the window staring out, lost in thoughts with a deep forlorn expressions broke his heart. Tempering down his own resentment towards her, shooting a casual glance towards still sleeping Hannah, he strolled across the room to her.

"How is she?"

She turned towards him and said, looking very tired and worried "Her temperature is down. But Klaus…"

"Don't overwork yourself. Everything will be alright." He said to her, after pausing for a fraction of second he asked. "Are you okay?"

"Am I spotting?" She clarified.

"Yes." He said. Feeling strange to be discussing such an intimate issue, never ever happened during last pregnancy of hers.

"Yes" her voice sounded defeated.

He sighed and said "Hayley you cannot stay here. The doctor advised you bedrest. You have to go back."

"I cannot Klaus." She looked at him helplessly looking at sleeping Hannah.

He just stared at her and then said "what if…. What if…" he said carefully "I am able to take Hannah with us back to Mystic Falls."

Although hearing that he was willing to accept Hannah gave her such a hope that she just wanted to hug him, she shook her head "No. Klaus. How can we do that? If my father finds out that I told you he will… "

"Hayley, Jackson is gone. You are her biological mother. You have all the right." He said earnestly. Right now he has to be there for her, to give her all the support she needs.

"That is not the issue. If I ask for custody, I will have to reveal my identity which I am willing to do but then my father will make sure to tell Hannah everything which will rise question for which I am not ready."

"What are you not ready for exactly?" He suddenly asked angrily, holding her arm as she swayed, he led her to the chair, cursing under his breath which she didnt get.

She said in anguish as she sat down "I am not ready to tell her about our relationship and the circumstances of her birth, of her father, why wasn't he part of our lives, why I left her at my father's mercy and not stand for her." Every ounce of strength she has mustered up during the past two years to get to his point suddenly seemed to have drained from her. This was what her father always did to her. The fear of losing her unborn child as well as fear of complication about Hannah was so intense that suddenly she couldn't hold in and started to cry.

Klaus taken aback by her crying, impulsively pulled her in a hug, ran his hand on her back and murmured "shh. Everything will be alright."

But when she shook her head, her face buried in his chest he said "I didnt know you were so weak."

She looked up from teary lashes, pushed him away from her and said "damn you Klaus." Realizing her voice had risen she stepped away from Hannah's bed to not disturb her.

"What do you want me to say Hayley? You are being unreasonable!" He said frustratingly.

When she remained quiet he asked savagely "So you expect us to continue this arrangement and take custody of her under guise of her sister when you give your father that promised heir?" His tone laced with derision, he continued when she nodded "How will you explain coming back from death?" ending with taunt.

She snapped "well I have a few months to come up with an explanation. You dont have to worry about that."

He cursed at her stubbornness and asked softly "what if it is not a boy again?"

"Don't say that!" She said harshly. "Don't you dare say that!"

"Don't do this to yourself then!" He resorted in a similar tone. He was furious that she was making things difficult for herself. There was simple solution to all this. Emerson didn't have any right on Hannah. He fisted his hand in fury when she said "I think we will have a boy" her tone hopeful. He stepped closer to her and said keeping his tone reasonable "when you were expecting Hope even then you didn't consider the possibility that we could be having a girl and I remember your breakdown… disappointment when she was born. I am not going to let you do that now."

"What do you want me to do then?" She asked in anguish mingled with anger.

"I want you to consider the possibility that we might be having another daughter" A strong display of emotion on his face made her heart ache.

She asked "so what do you propose?"

"What I am proposing is that you tell you father…"

"He will never give me Hannah until I give him a male heir. He will destroy Hannah. I know my father Klaus. I cannot do this to Hannah. Not to mention there is Jackson's family too. I dont expect from my father not to drag them out with this scandal. I dont want to make this situation anymore complicated then it already is."

Klaus sighed in frustration but he couldnt say anything when she said "she is mine and it is my decision to make."

He pursed his lips and Hayley knew that she had hurt him now but she was not taking any chances. She will not complicate Hannah's innocent childhood more than it already was.

He felt cold as if she had cast him aside. He said coldly "Okay then. Now either you come with me willingly right now back to the hotel to rest and we will come back again in the afternoon or you come with me later and rest in hotel and _not_ come back in the afternoon. Choice is yours."

"Why are you being like that?" She asked desperately.

"Because I might have to go back to Mystic falls and I cannot go until I am sure that you will take care of yourself and our son.. damn it.. our _child_."

"I will take care of myself"

"Well you are convincing me." He replied derisively.

"You think just because I am carrying you child you can command me. No you cannot. I am not Eden anymore Klaus. I… I will not let you do this to me."

He glared at her angrily and then grabbing her am, he practically dragged her out of the room. "listen Hayley. I am up to here with you. I understand that you want to be with Hannah but you cannot do anything right now. She is asleep and you need to rest. How many times I have to tell you this. It is for your own good and if you dont want to think about yourself and for your unborn child do this."

Hearing him making valid points she finally nodded.

During the ride to the hotel, he got a call from Kara telling him in the midst of severe cough attack that Dean Scott was willing to meet him the following afternoon so she had gotten him a flight back in the evening.

"Poor Kara." He commented as he put the cell back in his jean's pocket, before turning back to Hayley who scowled but didnt comment.

He sighed but didnt say anything.

When he finally reached his room, he asked her "how are you feeling?"

"Fine" she replied curtly and went to the bathroom. Klaus felt like marching in there and shake her but he controlled the urge. She was already going through enough.

He started collecting his documents so by the time Kara called he was already packed to go.

He sighed and looked towards Hayley who had already settled down in the bed "I wish I could stay but I have to go."

"I understand.' She replied, controlling the urge to kiss that anger off of his face. He was angry, his anger was genuine so she wanted to give him time to adjust but that didnt mean that she will let him manipulate her.

He continued to stare at her for a moment and then said "promise me you will not risk yourself."

She smiled despite the situation "of course."

He paused for another moment and then said "James will take you the hospital whenever you want to go but you have to come back to the hotel for rest when visiting times are over. And you have to come back for lunch. I dont want you eating hospital food. If you are not back, I will take matters into my own hand." ending with steel in his voice.

Despite her treacherous heart melting for the care he was showing, she glared at him and turned away from him while Klaus stood glaring at her for a few seconds but then left. He had to handle some tasks in the hotel before catching his flight three hours later.

* * *

 **In Mystic Falls**

Elijah got up to leave for home. He looked up when the door opened and Ashely walked in and said "Mr. Mikaleons there is a Ms Thomas here. I told her that you are leaving for home but she insists."

"Let her in" Elijah said.

A few seconds later, Elijah was gaping at the young woman who had been haunting his mind for the past seven years. One night with her was more than enough. "you.…"

"Oh. I thought.. I thought you wouldnt remember me…" she said awkwardly.

"Ashely that will be all."

After the door closed behind his PA, he motioned her to sit down, still not able to believe that she was here in his office. For the past seven years she had come in his thoughts often late in night. Her slender legs wrapped around him still gave me that tightening in his groin, that arousal. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably at the familiar signs of of arousal. Having lost his fiancé Tatia to his best friend Vincent, to escape the humiliation and deception forced upon him by two of his most trusted people he had ended up in New York, gotten blind drunk and had one unforgettable night with Gia Thomas. On finding her gone the very next day was a huge blow to him. He had looked high and low for her for the few days but then stopped and finally came back to Mystic Falls to take charge of his life once again. And now after seven years she was here in his office. At first glance he noticed the slight changes in her, her figure gone a bit more womanly over the past seven years yet she looked weaker, in fact for a moment he thought that she might be sick. The thought churned his stomach. She looked nervous too.

"Umm Mr. Mikaelson…"

"Elijah."

"I …. okay Elijah. I need your help."

"What is going on? Please have a seat" noticing that she still had not taken the seat.

"I … I don't know how to tell you this but there is not other way than coming out straight" She twisted her fingers and then taking a deep breath she continued "that night we had, I didnt know then but later I found out that I had gotten pregnant."

Elijah stared at her for a very long time as if she had lost her mind. "but we used protection."

"Yes we did but it failed." Gia responding, looking very nervous.

"What are you saying? I have a child."

"You have a _son_. His name is Henrik" Gia replied, looking straight into his eyes.

Elijah stared at her for a moment and then asked flabbergasted "how can you say that he is mine?"

"Because you the only person I had slept with during the past six months before that night."

"Pardon me if you think that I will not require proof of what you are claiming."

"Of course. If there were anyone else, they would have felt insulted at what you are insinuating but considering the circumstances of our last encounter I am going to give you benefit of doubt. You can get the DNA checked and everything but I have a condition."

"I dont think you are in the position of imposing conditions" Elijah said, the enormity of revelation, the deception if in fact she was telling the truth starting to force a reaction from him. _But what exactly was he feeling? He didnt know. Was he still in shock, denial… what?_

"My condition is that you will only approach Henrik and conduct the DNA if you have intention of being part of his life." Gia continued unaffected by his comment.

"Provided he is my son" Elijah interjected at once.

"He is." She replied softly. She opened her purse and took out a picture and placed it on the desk.

Elijah looked at her earnest expression but still didnt feel convinced. He then leaned forward and picked up the photograph and then stared. The seven year old boy was his mini version. When he looked up she said softly "he looks like you, doesnt he?"

Confused whether to believe her or not even though the evidence was staring at him "Why now? Why have you come now? You knew seven years back but you chose to keep him a secret from me, why?"

From her strained smile it was obvious that Gia clearly expected this question. "After locating your number I tried to contact you. Your secretary wouldn't connect me to you. When you didnt get back to me I thought you wanted to be left alone so I stopped trying. But now Henrik is older and wiser. Even though you might not be interested in him, he is. He wants to get to know you. For him I thought I should give it another try."

Elijah remained seated thinking of the most difficult time of his life seven years ago. _Her story seemed unlikely because Jenna his secretary back then was very efficient and she wouldnt have screened the calls._

 _Unless you asked her to for some reason._

 _But this can be easily checked._ He told himself. _The company kept archives of all calls made to the him._

"You do know that this can be checked if you called or not."

"I didnt but by all means you can get it checked. I am not lying" She said calmly. "That is the reason I didnt leave my name when I came looking for you last month."

"It was you?" Elijah asked in surprise.

"yes."

Elijah sat there shocked, his jumbled mind trying to process what she had just reveled. He had a son! How was it possible? They had used protection yet he was remembering that night clearly, the morning after in fact. When he had left that hotel room he had a strange feeling that he had left something of his back there somewhere. Part of him just wanted to accept it without any question. And if what she was saying was right, she had deceived him. She deprived him of his son for seven years. How could she?! But she is saying that she tried to contact you. A voice reasoned. Elijah shook his head and tried in a calm voice.

"I want to meet him."

"You will not hurt him Elijah." It was a statement, not a question but there was a request in it too.

"No." He replied. "When are you going back?"

"I have to go back today. I have a flight back at nine tonight. A neighbor is babysitting Henrik. I have to relieve her."

Elijah pressed the intercom button "get me a seat on the flight leaving for New York at ten tonight."

"Return sir?"

"No" He replied looking at Gia. Flight home can be handled later after meeting his son.

* * *

While Elijah was on the way to airport with Gia, Klaus was on the way back from the airport. Suddenly he remembered documents he needed for Dean Scott meeting. Looking at the time he realized it was half past seven so thinking that he would rather have a look before going to the office next morning he told the driver to take the car to Kara's apartment. When Henry offered to take the file up, he said "no, I will go myself." thinking that he should ask Kara about her health. That was the least he could do after putting on so long hours.

He climbed the stairs two at a time. He was waiting after ringing the bell when someone said "oh hi. Are you waiting for Kara?"

Klaus turned to face an older kind looking woman.

"yes."

"You are her husband. You should have the keys. You can go inside."

"Oh I think there is a misunderstanding. I am not her husband."

"Young man, marriages are not broken because of one fight. Come, you have to give her another chance. She is such a sweet girl."

He just stared at her wondering about the sanity of the older woman.

"I have an extra set of key to her apartment, you know."

"No. I don't need it."

He startled when he saw Kara climbing up the stairs towards them. For a moment he wondered if he saw her flinch as she stopped climbing at once but then she resumed and her pace quickened. She reached them and said rather breathlessly "oh Mr. Mikaelson. I was not expecting you. Betsy darling have you had your medicines?"

"My medicine? Oh yes dear. I did. I like him." Whispering into her ear in the end.

Kara blushed and then gently ushering Betsy towards the door next to her own apparent she turned back towards Klaus and said "Betsy lives in her own world. I am sorry if she caused any problems."

"No" Klaus laughed "for some wired reason she thought that you and I are married."

Kara said "oh" she laughed too but Klaus could see it not reaching her eyes.

"I should be going. I came to get the document for Dean Scott but what are you doing out of bed?"

She smiled "I had to go out some thing but I have faxed you at your home office. I knew you would like to look at them tonight."

"Oh you are gem Kara." He smiled "Goodnight" before going back to his car.

When he sat back in his car, he looked up at the apartment building and laughed at Hayley's suspicion about Kara when she didnt even invite him in her apartment.

He was so tired by the time he reached home, he went to bed straight after stripping off his clothes and after debating whether to call Hayley or not then deciding against it thinking that she must be sleeping.

* * *

 **New York**

In the meantime Elijah walked into an apartment after Gia unlocked it. She said "come in."

He had hardly taken a step inside the threshold when a little boy, well not so little but to him he was little, ran to Gia and hugged her "mommy you are back"

"Hey sweetie. You are still up."

He stepped back from her and turned to Elijah curiously but said "I didnt want to sleep before saying good night to you. Who is he?" His curiosity very apparent.

Gia held his hand and said "lets go inside."

Elijah walked behind them in trance. The boy was spitting image of him. No one could doubt his parentage. A strong surge of emotions overflowed his heart. He looked around reluctantly to notice the small but tidy apartment. A few cars and boy toys showed the presence of a child in there. Gia smiled at an older woman walking toward them "Mrs. Stan. Thank you so much."

"No problem deary. You know how much I love this boy."

Looking back at the boy who was staring at him openly, he knew that his life was going to change for ever. There was no need for DNA test. The boy was his. He knew it in his bones. His curiosity making him look vulnerable and then he heard him ask "are you my daddy?"

Before he could respond and gather the strong emotion that were bombarding his heart, he heard a soft gasp. He spun around to stare at Gia who had obviously come back after seeing her neighbour out and had heard her son's question.

* * *

 **Mystic Falls**

Next morning when he reached office Kara was already there, looking prompt and efficient. "How are you feeling now?"

"Much better. Thank you." She smiled.

"Connect me to Ben."

Twenty minutes later he put the phone down after talking to Ben about this new complication. His repose was same as he had expected "If they wanted to keep the identity secret then there was no other way they could adopt Hannah. Her grandfather had rights over the husband of child's mother."

He got up and started pacing. An hour later, finally he came to gut-wrenching decision. He didnt want to do that but he knew that he had to. He had lusted and worked after that company for so many years. Now it was his but for Hannah's sake he was willing to make that sacrifice. He will not let her feel that she was abandoned too. She didnt deserve that man to be part of her life. But before that he had to talk to Elijah. He told Kara to connect him to Elijah. When a few minutes later he was informed by Kara that he was having a personal day off he was a bit taken aback. _Since when did Elijah have personal days?_

Hayley put the cell in the back pocket of her jeans feeling dejected at Klaus's detached tone. She had been in New York for the past three days and Klaus had called her every day, sometimes twice but just to inquire who she was feeling, any more spotting which to her relief had stopped, how Hannah was feeling. He didn't talk about what she expected him to which told her that he was still upset with her. But what could she do, she reasoned with herself. Her father had threatened her not to mention that her and Klaus relationship was never such that of great confidences. She took a deep breath, rubbed her stomach absently and then headed back to Hannah's room feeling ironically relieved that her father had not made an appearance to see Hannah. She didnt want to face him at all even under the guise of Hayley Mikaelson. During these past three days she had gathered that the nurses and the doctors were pretty disgusted by the father of child not coming to see his child so the risk that they might tell him about her visit to Hannah was minimum. Thanks for Danni she knew about her father's was still in California even though he was informed about Hannah's condition. The goosebumps in her arms had stood up when she thought about Hayley lonely in her bed with no visitors if she had not been able to visit her. When she entered Hannah's room she beamed at her. They had managed to break the ice between them which Hayley knew partly had to do with being Klaus, Hannah's idol's, wife. Feeling happy that her temperature was down, the neck pain getting better she walked around the bed and sat next to her.

"Look what I got for you." Handing her the electronic game player.

"OH I love it. A friend in my class has it. Thank you Hayley."

"Now dont get too excited. You need to rest." Hayley said as she watched Hannah trying to get up.

"Where is Mr. Mikaelson coming back?"

Hayley sucked in breath, she had come to realize how much Hannah idolized Klaus but why, that she was unable to understand.

"Soon. He had some important business to take care of but he asks about you a lot. Tell me about him. How do you know him?"

Hannah looked at her with a shy smile and then started telling Hayley about his visits and their talks about her sister. By the time she was done, she looked tired and Hayley feeling very emotional. _He had done all this for Hannah then why not during their wedding. Could it all be because of just guilt?_

She looked up when Tina, the nurse entered the room with a big smile on her face. "Time for your medicines Hannah."

While Tina attended to Hannah, Hayley composed her thoughts and emotions. Why was he making it so difficult for her to not love him?

* * *

It had been three day since he had left Hayley in New York. During this time he had tried to lose himself in work so that he didnt have to think about the complications in his personal life. The shift of focus was a welcoming distraction. Last two months events and revelations, had finally pushed him over the edge where he had realized that he was not going to resolve anything unless he was clear headed. And to do that he had to shift his focus to something else. What other best way to lose himself in work, work from very early in the morning till very late, making yourself so tired that you dont have energy to think when you lie on the bed. The only thing that he had indulged himself of during these couple of day was to call her consistently and inquire about her and Hannah's health, keeping his inquiry limited to just two topics and nothing else not indulging the feeling that she wanted to talk to about other stuff. His fear that she would disappear from his life any day was so tangible that it often woke him up during night and after debating, contemplating texting her to find out how she was doing, he had just sufficed to pacing in his room.

When he entered the reception area of Mikealson Corp, a few hours later, the security guard smiled at him. He inclined his head in acknowledgement but continued towards the elevators.

Ignoring Elijah's new secretary's "Mr. Mikaelson you cannot go in there. He is in a meeting" he turned midway to his room and headed to the conference room, nostalgia plaguing him- he had worked so hard to get to this office four years ago but it was all a waste. He was going to talk to him today.

When he opened the door with force, a few people including Elijah turned towards him.

Elijah addressed his personal assistant "that is fine Ashley" who had followed him in and said "I am sorry Mr. Mikaelson…"

Elijah walked towards Klaus after saying "excuse me gentlemen."

"I have to talk to you urgently."

"After the meeting" Elijah said pointedly after he reached him.

"I will wait in your office then." He could use this time to gather his thoughts and catch up with Hayley.

By the time Elijah joined him in his office, half an hour later he had taken his daily report from Hayley and formulated how to approach Elijah.

"What is going on?" Elijah asked as he walked behind his desk to his seat.

Klaus asked "where were you for the past three days?"

"Some personal business to take care of." Elijah replied but Klaus couldnt help wondering if Elijah was not meeting his eyes.

"Okay so here is the deal." By the time he as done telling Elijah about Hannah and Emerson and his plans, Elijah was leaning back in his chair, astonished at the revelation, his own complicated situation compounded by another one.

"So let me get his straight. You want to offer Emerson Cyclone in exchange for Hannah."

"In case he does not listen to simple logic." Klaus replied. "Since we both are partners I felt obliged to tell you this."

He stood up and started pacing and continued "Elijah that girl deserves her mother. She was abandoned by so may people. Eden and her dont deserve this."

Elijah studied his brother knowing the hurt their parent had caused him "What about the employees? How are we going to back up this decision? We just purchased the company. This will not have a good impact on the business."

"I know but this is the risk I am willing to take. I assumed you would too." Klaus said "Was I wrong in that assumption?"

Elijah just glared at him,anger at Gia, at his taunt made him want to punch him but realizing that it must be hard for Klaus to make such a decision since he knew how much he wanted the company, he said curtly "it is not me you should be concerned about."

"I am not any longer concern about father's approval Elijah. Of course you can have partnership with Emerson if he is willing to do that."

"No." Elijah at once said. "No. If you have decided to sell you shares to him then I am in too. Emerson is not the sort of person I want to do the business with."

"Okay perfect. Now tell me what is going on with you." Klaus said as he strolled to the chair feeling relaxed and happy even though he had just lost his company.

Elijah leaned back in this chari, his finger linking , chin resting on them. He took a deep breath after a few seconds and then opened the drawer and took out something from it. He threw it on the desk. Klaus walked to the desk and stared at the picture of a young boy. He picked up the picture. _Was it his imagination or the boy really looked like Elijah._

When he looked up at Elijah, he knew his suspicion was right. He asked quietly "how?"

Elijah shrugged his shoulder, took a sigh and continued "eight years back after Tatia cheated on me, I was in New York where I met Gia…."

"Gia.. Thomas?" Klaus asked in confusion.

"Yes?"

"She is Hayley… Eden's friend. Her son is…was Hannah's friend." _Was she visiting Mystic Falls? Was it Gia who had met her that day?_ He wondered.

Elijah's eye narrowed further "what a coincidence?!"

"Why didnt you know until now?"

"She thought I didnt want to know. A case of lost calls." Elijah replied sardonically.

Klaus laughed at the irony but then said "So why now?"

"My son…" he stopped as the emotion of what he had said passed on his face. For the first time ever in his life Klaus knew exactly how his very controlled brother felt since he felt the same away about Hope. "Henrik…. has stared to ask a lot of question."

Klaus contineud to study the photograph and then said "I would show my doubts but any blind man can see that the boy is yours."

"The boy's name is Henrik." Came a curt response.

Klaus looked up, gave Elijah a big grin seeing the fury on his face, probably for calling his son 'boy'

"Well I guess congratulations are in order. I assume that you met the boy?" He continued in the same tone and with the grin still plastered on his face wondering about the scowl that had suddenly appeared on Elijah's face.

When he inclined slowly, Klaus asked carefully, observing the scowl "Have you told father?"

"No." Elijah replied. Just hearing that told Klaus the stress Elijah must be in.

"brother I wish I had not put you in yet another difficult situation."

Something about his comment cleared Elijah's mind "nothing about both situations is unresolvable. Challenging but not unresolvable. Family always comes first. Always and Forever."

Klaus smiled at his brother's age old motto.

"Okay good. I should be going on. I have a few meetings to attend and then set the wheels in motion. When are we meeting Henrik and this Gia?"

"Soon" Elijah replied. Klaus inclined his head in acknowledgement realizing that Elijah does not want to discuss further.

As he reached the door Elijah asked "how is she now?"

"Hannah is getting better but it will take time."

"I am asking about Eden…Hayley."

"I dont know." Klaus replied as he turned back to leave but stopped once again when Elijah asked "Niklaus what are you doing?"

"I know what I am doing Elijah." Saying that he left.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Hmm how do you like this chapter? I am not sure how I feel about it. It has everything I wanted to convey but still something is lacking. I dont know what._**

 ** _Anyways what do you think of Gia/Elijah story? Kara's neighbor, what was she talking about? And Klaus decision, will Emerson willing to do what he wants?_**

 ** _Last chapter last for sure lol._**


	22. Take me home - 1

**_A/N: Thanks for wonderful reviews. I apologize for not responding to your individual reviews this time. Past couple of weeks had been crazy and then I was working on finishing the story and I am glad that I managed to do so tonight so you will get to read the rest of story which got stretched to three more chapters lol before thanksgiving. td You will get answers to your curiosities in the remaining chapters. Rest of you I hope I am covering your curiosities too._**

 ** _Enjoy :) Hope you like it._**

 ** _Synopsis: Klaus makes an ultimate sacrifice to ensure Hannah's future while trying to figure out who had jeopardize his marriage._**

* * *

She had been back for the past two days after spending shy of a week with now almost recovered Hannah, send home in the reliable care of Dani, with whom she had managed to form a sort of friendship, gained the little girl's trust enough that she had promised that she wouldnt inform her father about Hayley's and Klaus's visit. The fact that her father didnt visit her even once save for that two phone calls to the head of department of children's ward was not lost on her. She still was not sure how she really felt about it; part of her was relieved that the lack of those visits saved Hannah from the lash of his poisonous tongue. To her relief the hospital staff and the doctor had taken upon themselves not to keep Hannah's father apprise of her visitors. If he had to make an educated guess then she was sure that they were as disgusted by her father as she was.

Now that she was back, back to Hope whom she had missed terribly, whom she knew needed her, needed the stability, she had not spend a single moment not agonizing over Hannah. The irony of her situation was not lost on her; when she was with Hannah, she was missing Hope, was forced to leave her behind to keep her existence a secret and now that she was with Hope, she was forced to leave Hannah behind. Klaus support during this time, his not pressuring her to remain with Hope was something she was grateful to him but that just intensified her guilt for leaving Hope behind with him and Mia. If she had thought meeting Hannah will be enough she was finding out that she couldnt be any more wrong. For two years she had agonized over not being with Hannah but after being with her for almost two weeks, it was nearly impossible to live without her. Every time she called her to inquire about her health she was left with this longing nd any amount of cuddling Hope or the sweet talk to her was not enough to sooth and fill that emptiness in her. Number of times she had thought about hopping on the plan to go and get her daughter back from her father but had lost courage. Hannah … she just couldn't put that girl through all this, not right now; Hannah admired her sister. What will she do when she will find out that the person she looked up to left her to wolves. No she couldn't do that.

To her immense disappointment Klaus and her relationship had suffered another snag, a snag was expected because of this secret but the timing were not; she didnt have enough time to prepare herself for that. He had still not talked to her about Hannah, a talk that she knew was just around the corner. The only thing they talked about since she had left for New York was Hannah's and her own health. The bleeding had stopped to her relief but to her own comfort and satisfaction, she had made an appointment to make sure everything was alright with the baby. The real challenge was how to inform Klaus about this appointment since he had left for the business trip to London straight from the office the day she had arrived back. She had a suspicion that even if he were not on a business trip he would have avoided her. He was guilt tripping her, she had a suspicion. But she was determined not to let him get away with it. While she missed him, she realized that on the upside his absence was really good under the circumstances since she was quite certain that if he were here they would be having another fight. Despite their resentment towards each other she had texted him the details about the appointment on the coming Friday praying that the message did not get screened by Kara, convincing herself that she was doing this because it was his right to know dismissing the small voice telling him that she did it because _she_ want him to be there. When he told her "I will be there. I am coming back early Friday so will go to office directly from the airport but I will be there. Send me the address" after inquiring about her heart in that regular call to her she felt relieved. But before she could ask anything he cut her off saying that he had to go to a meeting.

Hayley stared at the rapid beating heartbeat and her heart for the first time since she had started spotting she felt relaxed, despite the the ache in her heart; he had missed the appointment. When the doctor informed her that everything was okay with the baby, she smiled at her but felt her jaw muscles tight with tension. He was punishing her for keeping him out of her life. Feeling glad that she had brought the driver with her, the bodyguard following close by behind somewhere- they were really excellent in their job, she got in the car and leaned against the seat to close her eyes. By the time she reached home she was tired and beyond angry- disappointed. After changing clothes she went to Hope's room and surrounded herself with her activities. She just stayed with her until it was her sleeping time. After putting her to bed, finally she dragged herself to her room. Until then she had tried to avoid going to their room since it just ignited her anger.

Klaus was extremely tired but in a dire need to talk to Hayley. They had to talk about a lot of stuff; Hannah on top of the list. He had spend last week trying to come up with the plan to approach Emerson, making sure that all the desired documents were ready. He had opted to wait until she came back to keep her trip to New York secret from Emerson. Now that she was back he was going to take the necessary step to ensure Hannah future happiness. He already had gotten a flight to New York for tomorrow afternoon. By the time he reached home it was really late on account of the meeting with Stefan running late. He was furious with himself as he realized that he will miss her again; she would be in bed by now. Tomorrow morning he will sit her down and make her listen to everything before leaving for New York but when he entered his bedroom after peeking in on Hope, he stopped in his track. Even from the distance he could see her sitting on the carpet, her face buried in her knees, her body shaking. He didnt need to her those sobs to know that she was crying. He dashed to her and held her from her shaking shoulders asking "Eden what is it?" But she just continued to cry, in fact it became more intense causing that dread feeling in his stomach to deepen. _The baby! Something has happened to the baby._

"Dont cry like that. It is not good for you. Tell me what is going on." _OH please let nothing happen to our baby_. Silently he begged to an invisible force.

Hayley could hear him talking to her, soothing her but she couldnt stop; she couldnt stop crying. She just wished him to be here not just her voice. _Where was he? Why was he not here with her?_

"I _am_ here" and she realized that she must have spoken those words aloud. She looked up at his stressful voice and from her own teary eyes saw him kneeling in front of her holding her upright against him but she started to cry louder.

"Eden. Please tell me what is going on?" His tone was pleading.

Panicking now he pulled her body into his lap and leaned against the bed. He held her tight and let her cry. He kissed her forehead, removed her damp hair from her forehead feeling at lost on how was he going to console her if they had lost the baby. What was he going to do? This baby was a new start for both of them.

He didnt know how long he sat on that cold floor but to his relief after all she stopped crying.

"Now tell me what is going on?" He asked in a soothing voice despite him having an idea what has happened.

She whispered against his chest in a muffled voice "you missed the appointment."

"Which…." and then he stopped talking as he realized what she was talking about and he cursed "oh Eden I am so sorry. I lost track of time in the meeting."

She separated herself from him but he held onto her tightly.

She said "let me go Klaus."

"No. I want to hold you."

"Klaus…"

" _I am sorry_ wouldnt do this time, right?" She looked up at his strangely subdued voice.

When she stayed quiet, he took a deep breath, moved his hand between their bodies spraying over her stomach and asked in a resigned voice "how did it go?"

Sensing the anxiety in his voice, she said "the baby is fine."

Taking a sigh of relief and admonishing himself for jumping to conclusion while at the same time trying to deal with that dread in his stomach. _She will not forgive you for this._ A voice kept on telling him. "Come on. You need to get off the carpet."

But she stayed there which he didnt mind but he shifted and stood up with her in his arms. After placing her on the bed he sat next to her, held her hand and said "I am…" stopped to take a breath and then asked as he shook his head in distress "have you eaten anything?"

"yes I have." She wanted to stay mad at him but from the look on his face, it was not lost on her that he was punishing himself.

"I will be back in a minute." He said as he got up from he side.

"Have you eaten?" Her words stopped him.

"Yes I have" He lied having lost all his appetite.

Hayley stayed on the bed, staring at the closed bathroom door, thinking about his reaction; it was genuine. She sighed, turned to one side and closed her eyes. On account of all that crying and early pregnancy tire she drifted off to sleep almost immediately not knowing him standing over her studying her and then leaving her alone till very early in the morning.

When she woke up he was not next to her. She took a breath of frustration, told herself to just forget about yesterday, got out of the bed and went to take a shower. When she came out wearing her robe raking fingers through her wet hair, she stopped in her tack when she noticed a breakfast tray on the side table. For a moment she studied his tense body stance as he stood staring out of the window and then quietly she moved to the bed to fix it.

He turned towards her and asked "how are you feeling?"

"I am fine." She replied as she straightened the duvet. "The baby is fine. I told you."

"I am not talking physically…"

She looked up this time and studied his expressions noticing the red sneaking on his cheek. _Why?_ She wondered curiously. Part of her found that development interesting but her disappointment at him was too overpowering. She said rather firmly "I am fine Klaus."

He grabbed her arm as she tried to sneak by him and said "Hayley…."

But she stopped him from continuing by saying "If it is about the appointment then leave it be. I am tired. I just dont want to hear any excuses. It is my fault to raise my expectations" ending bitterly. To her unexpected disappointment he let go of her arm.

Klaus pursed his lips angrily while she walked to the walking closet.

"Eat something Eden."

"It is Hayley." She said as she pulled on a pair of causal pants and then drop her robe to reveal her naked torso except for the sexy black bra that she was wearing. He groaned as the desire leapt in his heart as he watched her pull on a black pullover.

Hayley could feel his eyes on her back and her cheeks burned. After putting on her pullover she pulled on a thick pair of white socks and turned towards him and asked "what are your plans for today?" as she left the walking closet and walked towards the breakfast tray.

"I have to go to New York."

"Why?" She asked before she could stop herself from asking. Sighing she cursed herself for even asking that. She was so over this trying. All she had to do was keep her head high and live her life for Hope and Hannah and this unborn baby.

"Some business stuff." He fibbed not wanting to give her any kind of hope.

When she stayed quiet he cursed softly and said "I have to go out right now but we have to talk."

Hayley stared down at the breakfast items recognizing the olive branch. She looked up at him, seeing the anxiety on his face, inclined his head in acknowledgment and picked up the dry piece of toast to chew on it.

Not satisfied with her reaction he too inclined his head and headed towards the walking closet. Ten minutes later he was on the way to confront Kara.

 ** _Flashback Klaus_**

 ** _Two days ago_**

 _After putting the cell phone down he stood up feeling anxious. Ultrasound? what if something had gone wrong? Wouldn't she be bleeding right now if it had. He looked up when the door opened and Kara walked in saying "Mr. Mikaelson Jeff and Stanley are waiting for you."_

 _"I will be right there. Mark Friday 12 pm Hayley's ultrasound appointment. We will be in Mystic Falls by then."_

 _"Sure." She replied, the smile slightly slipping from her face. He motioned her to follow her out of the room._

 ** _end flashback._**

He pursed his lips in disappointment at the possibility that Kara had not informed him of that appointment deliberately. _Hasn't Hayley expressed her doubts about her?_

 _But it was not just her fault._ A voice reasoned with him. _No. It was not. It was his own fault too for forgetting the appointment but it was part of_ ** _her_** _job to remind him of his appointments._

He tried not to think about it but couldnt help replaying how serious her face had gotten when he had informed her about Hayley's appointment. It was as if a cloud was being lifted and he could see things clearly. _Could Hayley be right? Was Kara interested in her?_

 _No. They were friends and she has never given him any such impression._

 _Maybe because of jet lag she forgot._ That same voice reasoned once again but he shook his head as he turned the car on the road where her apartment was located remembering that Hayley had called him during labor too and he had missed it because of Kara. The thought that she needed him at that moment and because Kara didnt want him to be there made his stomach churn.

While standing outside her door waiting for her to open the door, his gaze went to the door next to her apartment and he recalled that short conversation with her old neighbor but before he could contemplate over it, the door opened revealing Kara dressed in a sleeveless knee length peach dress, lovingly hugging her curves.

"Mr. Mikealson?" she asked in shocked voice.

"Are you going somewhere?" he asked. _Why should he care?_ He wondered. _He was here to confront her so he should stay on focus._

"Oh no. Please come on in." She said as she stepped aside.

Klaus took a deep breath to get a grip over the slight pang and hesitation of what he was about to do. They were friends after all. Good friends. _What if he was wrong?_

 _No he was not._

She asked after closing the door behind her "Mr. Mikealson, is everything all right?"

Realizing that he had to take the bull by his horn, he said bluntly "Kara did I have an appointment yesterday with my wife?"

Just for a fraction of a second, he saw her flawless bright skin lose its brightness but to her credit she immediately regain her composure with the speed that amazed him. "I am sorry. What do you mean?"

"Kara, I am going to ask you one last time. Did I miss an ultrasound appointment yesterday." He reiterated.

"I have to check Mr. Mikaelson." She said now looking confused. Wow, how could he have missed that? He wondered once again. The sheer arrogant of her, she thought that she could play him made him blew his fuse.

"I think we both know that there was an appointment yesterday. You intentionally didnt remind me of it just like you screened all her calls two years ago." He didnt know how but those words were out of his mouth before he even knew what he was going to say to her. Suddenly he was furious with himself for finding excuses for Kara when Hayley tried to convince him.

" _Her_ calls… I am sorry who…." She asked curiously.

"Eden's calls" he gritted interrupting her while at the same time trying to control his anger.

"I never…" but Klaus once again interrupted her by saying in a loud voice "don't lie to me. How could you do that? I missed my daughter's birth!"

He paused for a moment and then continued, still not able to understand why would she do that "why would you do that Kara? You are my friend."

"Mr. Mikaelson there is a misunderstanding. Why would I screen your wife's call?" She responded in distress.

Klaus studied her distressed face- the tension and desperation so real that doubt swayed his belief once again but then he shook his head; he couldnt be wrong. He asked "all I am trying to understand is that why would you not tell me about Ed… Hayley's appointment yesterday?"

"Mr. Mikaelson I am sure if there were an appointment in my schedule I would have told you."

He slicing his hand through the air impatiently as he said "Kara, cut this out. I clearly remember telling you to note that appointment down. I. TOLD. YOU. MYSELF."

"I am sorry Mr. Mikaelson." She said in a weepy voice. "All I can say is that I must have forgotten to make a note of it. I am so sorry."

Klaus pressed his hand on his temple and said regretfully "I am sorry Kara. Not good enough for me."

He paused for a moment and then continued in the same tone, not really wanting to do it but seeing that he had no other choice "I dont believe you. I think it will be good if you find another job."

Almost immediately he regretted saying that when she looked chest fallen at his announcement; her complexion had gotten paler so much so that he feared that she was going to faint. Trying to figure out if she was acting he continued to study her. His thought process was interrupted by her gasping in a tone reflecting her grief stricken expressions "What? No Mr. Mikaelson I love my job. I swear this will never happen again."

"I am sorry Kara." He replied shaking his head slight, regretting the decision he had to take. She was a good personal assistant and in these couple of years he had started to see her as his friend.

As he reached the door she said "you are firing me because of one missed appointment?"

"It is not about appointment. It is about trust."

"I…I am sorry Mr. Mikaelson"

Klaus feet hesitated at the weepy and regretful voice. For a second, he thought of turning back towards her and taking her words for it but then he remembered the bitterness in Hayley's tone when she had confided in him about those calls and he had, to his everlasting regret, defended Kara. He shook his head and without turning back he left the apartment.

On dazed feet he walked to his car, opened it and sat down there for a long time. Suddenly he was convinced that those missed calls were not the only thing that she had tampered with. He picked up his cell and dialed Marcel's number. When the call connected he said "Marcel I have to meet you. I have a suspect regarding Hayley's kidnapping."

"Sure, come over. I was in the gym."

"I will be there in twenty minutes."

"See you then."

An hour later, Klaus was telling Marcel about what went down with Kara. After he was done, he said "I think she was the one who kidnapped Hayley and Hope."

"Why do you say that?" Marcel asked while wiping the sweat out of his eyes.

"I am not sure but I just think that she has her hand in multiple pies."

"Klaus you dont have any proof of her involvement. Even with these phone calls and appointment, it is your word against hers."

"Yes I dont. That is where you show me that you are the best."

"I cannot do anything unless she confesses to it." He said while doing bench presses.

"Confesses to it? From what I have seen today, I dont think she will ever confess to anything. She is an accomplished actress" ending in bitterness. "I dont know how I didnt see this before. How could I be so naive?" He voiced out his inner disgust with himself.

Marcel asked putting the weight down "are you sure she is involved?"

"No, I am not. If I were I would have told you but I want you to look into it." He said angrily as he started to pace. "I have to leave for New York on an important task. When I get back, I will get to the bottom of everything."

"You are going to New York after dumping on me that your PA might be involved in the kidnapping?"

"Ex-PA I fired her."

"Oh what ground?" Marcel asked raising his eyebrows as he put the dumbbell down.

"I just told you." Klaus looked at Marcel incredulously.

"Listen Klaus if what you are saying is right and she is in fact involved in the kidnaping then you need to realize that she can be dangerous."

"I know. Why do you think I am here with you when I have a flight to catch… oh" glancing at his wrist watch "in less than three hours. I still have not told Hayley yet. I have already hired the security for both her and Hope so I am not that worried about it. When I get back, we need to work on it."

He had reached the door when Marcel said "hire her back."

He spun towards him and asked "why?"

"Because if we want her to admit… confess to everything then she will be more cooperative or should I say coerced into telling her what she has been up to…. if she is still working for you."

Klaus looked at him thoughtfully and then nodding he left the room.

The drive to home was stressful as he contemplated rehiring her back and processing all the doubts forming in his mind. Unfortunately he could do anything before leaving for New York. He just wished that it was not too late by the time he comes back. By the time he got home, he just had a little over two hours to get ready and reach the airport to catch his flight. On the way to his room, he was stopped by Hope shouting excitedly "daddy look look…"

"What love?" He asked as he scooped her up and took her to his room. One glance at Hayley's rather somber expressions while she was reading a book was enough for him to grasp on the serious setback they both had suffered in their relationship. Looking from her point of view, he couldnt really blame her so he just gave her a grim nod, put Hope on the ground as she babbled on about the kitchen set Hayley had unwrapped for her while Klaus was dealing with Kara and Marcel.

"Oh that is great. You know when I come back from New York, you and I will have tae in that set."

From the corner of his eyes he looked at her but she was still engrossed her book, to his dismay. He looked back at Hope who had cupped his face to get his complete attention and was asking "now?"

Klaus smiled at her soft touch, the unconditional love oozing out of his two years old daughter helping with some of his heartache "Not now love. When I get back from New York."

"Why going?" Hope asked innocently spreading both her hands, her innocent wide eyes looking directing into his.

Klaus kissed her on her cheek and then took out a pair of change for the trip and said "daddy has a business meeting." He stooped down to her level and said "cross your fingers for daddy to be successful."

"What is sucusuf?"

" _Successful_ means that daddy is able to do for what he is going there. Now why dont you run along and play in your room. Daddy has to get ready."

As Hope ran out of the room, he straightened up, urging her wordlessly to say something but she still remained stubbornly quiet reminding him of how she was when they were married causing a sudden rage of fury ebb to the surface. _How dare she build that wall between them again? Yes he was at fault her but how dare she take this to extreme level?_ He angrily thrust his clothes in his traveling bag, walked to the bathroom and came back in a minute after gathering his toiletries, threw them too in the bag, zipped it up and said "I will be back as soon as I can. You dont exert yourself. Being out of danger does not mean that you can …" he suddenly paused as it hit him. 'What are you doing? After the blunder you made, you really think that these words mean anything to her? Maybe bringing Hannah will help the situation, show her that you really care for her.'

Hayley looked up at the quiet and their eyes met. His were saying something but what? She wondered. As she watched, he turned to leave she asked "is she with you?"

"Who?"

"You know who." She replied defiantly.

He couldnt believe how uplifted he felt with that ray of hope that ignited in him at her words. If she was concerned about Kara then definitely she wants more from this relationship.

"You have to trust me Hayley."

"I …"

Looking into his eyes, urging her to trust him he said "we have to talk. We have to talk about a lot of stuff but right now I have to leave. You just try to trust me. Will you do that for me?"

"I…" once again she didnt know what to say.

Looking down at his wrist watch when it chimed he said "I really must go. Promise me you will take care of yourself."

Hayley saw him leave with trepidation. She wanted to trust him. She really did but he was not giving her reason to. Was he back to his old self? Kara, did she make him lose his appointment? Should she ask him about her? But by the time she made her mind he was gone. With heavy heart she went to Hope's room to play with her.

* * *

A few hours later, he was shown into the sitting area reliving the last time he was here when Emerson had tried to successfully poison him from his daughter. Remembering his advice on how he should have handled Eden brought on a bad taste in his mouth. He stood up and walked towards the window looking out the big pond. This house was really beautiful, he acknowledged. Wondering about the miserable childhood Eden must have had here in this beautiful place made his heart ache for the little girl for whom he was here. If it were not for her, he wouldnt have liked to be within touching distance of this man. Thinking about all the work he and Ben had done during the past week in order to get this deal about Cyclone going, he once again went through the plan on approaching Emerson. Hopefully Emerson will agree to it. He was pretty confident. Ben was here in New York albeit right now back in the hotel. Good to bring him in case he was needed. Emerson wanted Cyclone. There was no doubt in his mind that he would fail. Worse comes to worse if for some reason he had to go without Hannah, he would have rolled the balls in motion. He startled when he heard Emerson's arrogant voice "What are you doing here Mikaelson?"

' _If he wants to deal with this like this then so be it.'_ He thought to himself and said "straight to the point then, Good. That is what I want too. I want the animosity in our family to end."

"You think after taking Cyclone from me, you are accomplish that?" He asked scornfully. "You accused me of kidnapping your daughter and that assistant of yours. You were unable to provide me with a grandson when I gave you what you wanted, your father's dream. Then you had the galls to take my share from Falcon industry too. Now your wife has died depriving me of that grandson she promised me."

Klaus bit his tongue to stop himself from lashing out at him for the remark he had made about Eden and about that contract. He was here for a purpose, a very important purpose and he couldnt afford to lose his temper "I think it is about time we end this for your granddaughter…."

only to be interrupted by Emerson harsh claim "she is nothing to me."

Klaus continued as if he had not just interrupted him "for Hannah's sake then. Hope and Hannah are related. I want them to remain in each other's life."

"That brat! I dont want anything to do with your daughter and neither with Hannah."

Klaus controlled the sudden rage of fury as he imagined how oppressed Hayley must have felt in her life under the control of this man. He said "then I have a preposition to make."

"Whatever you have I am not interested." Emerson said arrogantly "and you can leave now."

"It will be in your best interest if you listen." Klaus said confidently.

"There is nothing you can say or have that will interest me."

"You are wrong here." This time _his_ voice carried the arrogance that he prided himself in the board rooms.

Emerson studied him with contempt but made no move to leave so Klaus continued "I want to adopt Hannah."

Emerson expressions changed from contempt to confusion to shock "why?"

"I think she should be raised by me. She is Eden's sister and I think it will be good for her to have connection to her daughter. Since you are not interested in both of them forming a connection, I would like to take her with me."

"What are you willing to do?" This was what he was expecting and Emerson delivered.

"What do you want?" He steeled himself to lose his dream.

"Cyclone"

"Deal." Klaus said "No money, just Hannah. You sign a document that you have no relationship with Hannah and Hope. You will not contact her or reveal any information about her to anyone."

"You got yourself a pretty bad deal son." Emerson showed him his teeth, his eyes were shinning with menace.

"I am not your son and I know what sort of deal I have gotten."

Emerson stared at him and then shook his head indulgently and said smugly "no, no. I think I have a better deal."

"What could be better than Cyclone?" Klaus gritted, not liking that greedy look on his face.

"Well it boils down to how much you want Hannah and how much you want me out of your life."

"What do you want Emerson?" Klaus growled.

"Falcon."

"What? You cannot be serious!" Klaus gritted.

Emerson just stayed quiet for a moment and then asked sarcastically "should I take it that you are lost interest in investing in the bond between Hannah and your daughter?"

He clenched his fist in anger. Half an hour ago when he had reached Emerson house, he was ready to lose Cyclone for Hannah but not Falcon? That was out of question. He couldnt. He wouldnt.

He at once stood up and started towards the door but then stopped, took a deep breath and said "my lawyer will contact you in a couple of days."

When he sat in his car, he hit the steering wheel very hard in anger and frustration. That ridicules demand made by Emerson was not even worth contemplating. How could he even think that? He couldn't lose everything he had worked for not even for Hannah. Cyclone was another thing but Falcon. No way. He had not worked day and night just to lose it and that to Emerson! Angrily he turned his car on and took it on the road. Suddenly he felt hypocritical. He wanted to unite mother and daughter but he was not willing to pay the ultimate price. He who knew the true meaning of abandonment was ready to abandon Hannah once again. Leave her on the mercy of a man who was as critical and aloof as his own father was. What right did he have to be upset with Mikael when he had the means of saving Hannah from the same future yet he was hesitating to do so?! But losing Falcon! Even the thought made his stomach churn. To distract himself he called Camille and asked her to dinner to discuss Utopia.

* * *

While Klaus was having dinner with Camille, Hayley was looking at the cell phone wondering at the lack of contact from him. A few times she thought about calling him but then she decided against it. She looked at Hope already tucked in the bed and picked up a book to read to her. After sometime she got up after Hope had fallen asleep, picked up her scattered things, a task that she enjoyed doing herself even though Mia kept telling her that she would do it. She turned towards the door and smiled at Mia who was studying her smiling. She said "good night Mrs. Mikaelson" before heading to her own room. After closing the door, she went to her room too and changed her clothes to go to bed. She was mentally so exhausted because of this continuous mental battle she was having with Klaus that she just wanted to sleep but sleep took a long time for her to come.

* * *

After the dinner with Camille even the concept of losing Falcon was incomprehensible for him. While walking through the beautiful corridors, riding the elegant elevator up to his penthouse he shook his head and laughed at the demand Emerson had made. How could he lose all of his? He asked himself as he stepped out of the elevator. No way he could do that. After changing his clothes he dialed Ben's number. Bringing him along after all proved to be useless, he thought as he waited for him to pick up the cell. Upon hearing his greetings he said "Ben, we are leaving tomorrow."

"What happened? Did he take the deal?" Ben asked.

"No. There is a new development. We are not going through with it."

In that instant he realized that he had made the decision but to his dismay when he laid down to sleep the satisfaction that he was sure of feeling didnt come. _Damn it! Why couldnt Emerson take Cyclone and be happy with it?_

 _You know why not. He wants to defeat you._ A voice told him.

He tossed and turned, his gaze falling on his cell guiltily; he had not called Hayley and had not attended her call. Shame combined with anger filled his heart as he realized that he was punishing her for putting him yet again in another situation in which he didnt want to be. It was because of her, he was being forced to deal with the devil. He closed his eyes firmly and tried to sleep but sleep was nowhere near with those complicated and stressful thoughts plaguing his mind so to distract himself he revisited his suspicions about Kara, Marcel's advice and formulating a course of action on how to make her confess to what she did to Eden.

 _What was the point of doing that if he was not willing to sacrifice his happiness for her?_ Suddenly a voice asked him.

He shook his head once again and after a lot of tossing and turning with no conclusion on anything; no course of action with Kara and the decision about Falcon, he drifted off to sleep.

During the flight to Mystic Falls next day he made a mental list of pros and cons to Emerson's demand but the more he thought about the pros and cons the more he felt conflicted; what if the pros were in favor of losing Falcon to Emerson? The thought of losing Falcon was too much to bear. It was not just the name, it was past four years of his life, his loyal employees and the project he was currently working on, the fleet of hotels he had build across USA. By the time the flight landed in Mystic Falls he was distraught at the thought that he wouldnt after all be able to give Hayley what she desired most. He couldnt face her right now so he went straight to his office after parting with Ben. The building was closed but he used his personal access to his office to get there. He needed quiet and undisturbed surrounding, preferably away from Eden, to think some more. He knew that he had to call Kara but he just couldnt bring himself to do because right now the cons were winning and to his annoyance the win was not giving him the peace of mind that he desired.

By the time he reached home, the house was quiet. He peeked in Hope's room and watched her sleeping in the dim night light, the blanket discarded carelessly. He walked to her, fixed her blanket leaned down and kissed her forehead. His heart felt overwhelmed at the strong pull he felt towards her, at the thought that this beautiful girl was his flesh and blood, he had created with Hayley. What wouldnt he do for Hope? Wouldn't Hayley do the same for her daughter? His heart sank at the thought. Could he live without Hope? No. Then how can he even contemplate such a thing for Hayley? Already she had lost two precious years of Hannah's life not to mention Hannah losing the same amount of time with a loving relationship. If he goes through with it, even though Hannah will not know the reality of her relationship with Hayley, she will get to have a loving relationship with a person who will love her unconditionally. Looking down at Hope once again he realized how loved his daughter was. Doesnt Hannah deserve the same thing? He asked himself in anguish. She doesnt deserve to become a cynical person like himself because of what his parents abandoning him. Suddenly he was sure that he didnt want to abandon Hannah. With that knowledge, rest was not really too difficult to figure out. He took a deep breath reminding himself of yet another bonus through that deal; get rid of Emerson once and for all.

As he started to leave the room a voice whispered _'why dont you wait and see? Maybe she is carrying a boy. If she is then everything will be solved.'_

 _'But that will not rid of Emerson from you life not to mention he will find out about Eden and will want to be part of your son's life. If you want to rid of him, truly rid of him, it is now or never.'_

He closed his eyes in anguish at the thought of losing something for which he had been working day and night for the past four years. He took charge of this company four years ago with just a few shares. He can do that again. He told himself determinedly. Cyclone. He will start from the beginning again. He can do that or maybe he could take a break for a while. God knows that he had had his share of hard work and with the amount of money he had even after losing Falcon he could very well lay back for a couple of years before his restlessness would make him want to start something again but during that time he can be with his family. Hannah can become part of that family too. He can start from the beginning. What he is getting is worth it; a family of his own who loves him and whom he loves very much, who will never abandon him just like he will never abandon them. Feeling a bit satisfied with his decision he quietly closed the door he retreated the room and went to his room. From the door threshold he saw her sleeping figure. Silently he moved around, shed his clothes as he readied himself for bed regretting not contacting her since yesterday, this being the first time he had done so since after the she had left for New York.

Hayley was deep in sleep when she felt the bed sink in. She turned towards his side of the bed but she knew it was him before even she saw him.

She asked in a groggy voice "when did you get back?"

"Just right now."

"What happened to your work."

"In progress."

"Are you tired?" _Why was she asking all those question? Was she not upset with him anymore? He had not even called her since he had left. What was the matter with her._ She wondered.

"A little" he murmured as he closed his eyes and said "go back to sleep."

Hayley closed her eyes again. She wanted to hit him for his curt reply after ignoring her for the past two days, having not attended her calls but she was tired after having spend the day with Hope in the zoo and using all her willpower not to think about Klaus or feel hurt for his detachment so before she knew it she was back in her lala land.

Unlike Hayley, it took him a long time before he drifted to sleep; even after making the decision the concept of life without Falcon was just too unimaginable, that pit in his stomach was getting bigger and bigger by the second.

Monday morning when he woke up she was not next to him. It was very rare that she woke up before him, in fact it had never happened before. He quickly took a shower, changed his clothes and came down only to find that she had taken Hope for a walk. He sighed, grabbed his coffee and headed to the office. He had to do a lot of stuff today, set the wheels in motion for losing the thing he loved to get the thing he loved. As he stepped into his office, Kara's empty seat mocked at him. He groaned as he realized he had to take care of that too. Ten minutes later after getting settled into his office he picked up the cell to call her, suddenly another thought occurred to him so instead he called Ben's. After the greetings he said "meet me in my office by eleven." Without listening to his reply he put the phone down. But his cell rang almost at once. It was Ben informing him that he couldnt meet until twelve. Klaus nodded and agreed upon the time. Then he called Caroline. He had to talk to her before he could hand over the company to Emerson. As soon as the call connected he said to her "I have an important matter to discuss with you. Meet me for dinner at 6 at Ramone."

"Alright. Will talk when we meet."

"Great."

He then called human resource to send him a temp for the day. After he was done with that, he settled down to take care of the pile of paperwork on his desk and the emails in his inbox. Later in the day he was supposed to meet the Utopia team so stared to make notes for the meeting desiring coffee, missing Kara to his annoyance; she was a great assistant after all. He was lost in his work when he heard a knock at the door. Looking up his gaze focused on a young brunette. She walked in the door and said "good morning Mr. Mikaelson, my name is Jasmine Kuso. Human resource send me."

"Come in Ms Kuso. I need this document to be proof read and printed out again." He handed her the paper "and I have send some documents to be printed to the printer. I want them. I am expected Ben Franklin at twelve. Send him in when he comes but first I need coffee. Black with two teaspoon of sugar. I hope you can find your way."

"Of course Mr. Mikaelson" as she gathered the file Klaus had pointed to her. Klaus gaze fell on her left hand ring finger and was taken aback by the intense relief he felt at the sight of the ring.

"Anything else, Mr. MIkaelson?" She asked bringing him back to her.

"No. Thank you."

Klaus had still working out his plans for Utopia when Jasmine informed him of Ben's arrival. As he prepared himself for Ben he wondered if he could keep Jasmine permanently. She was proving to be quite efficient. But before he could make up his mind, Ben entered the office. Half an hour later, as he had expected Ben was gaping at him with confused expressions. Klaus said "get all the papers in order. I dont want anything other than Hannah and our family ties to sever. Make sure he knows what he is getting out of this deal. Zero contact with any member of my family which includes any children who are not yet born. And if he breaks the deal in anyway he will not only lose the company but also not gain access to my family. Caroline owns 10% of shares. I will deal with her. In the meantime I want you to contracts of all the projects we are handling with the companies. Make an iron-clad safety deal for our employees. I will address them. I don't trust Emerson. And until everything is finalized keep lid on all of this. Forget about all other things, this is your number one priority."

When he stopped talking, Ben asked "Mr. Mikaelson, are you sure you want to go through with it?"

"Of course I am."

"Fine". He said, his tone screaming his difference of opinion. Klaus brows lifted questioningly but Ben remained quiet. "By the way who is the new girl outside your office?"

"My new PA, Jasmine Kuso. I fired Kara."

Ben asked in shock "may I ask why?"

Since Ben was his lawyer and he already enough and since his advice was needed in his plan to get Kara, he told him everything even his talk with Marcel. After he was done he said "initially I was going to reinstate her, to gain her confidence but now my plan is changed. This is what I am thinking."

By the time he was done laying his plan to Ben, he himself was not sure about it.

Ben said "if your suspicion is right then I must say that a person like her, you dont know what they are capable of. So with this plan of your you have to be very careful. Who knows what she will do if she is captured. I still cannot believe that you suspect her to be behind the kidnapping. Kara….She seems so sweet."

"Neither did I but I am fairly confident that she was behind it all. As for being careful, yes we have to and have to keep lid on this. I dont want Hayley to know about both of these issues. Lucien can dig into Kara's past while keeping an eye on her so that she does not start something else at this crucial time and we can go from there. What do you think?"

"Theoretically it seems plausible. I just hope that you are not wrong in your suspicion or should I say I dont want you to be right in it either. Damn. It is … wow…." he still looked stunned.

After a short pause Klaus said thoughtfully "that will be all for right now. We have loads to do and limited time. I want to get through with this as soon as I can."

Ben nodded, got up and left while Klaus leaned back on the sofa rethinking about the course of action.

Taking a deep breath, bracing himself for what he was about to do, he picked up his cell and dialed Kara's number.

As soon as the call connected and he heard Kara's voice he said "hello Kara, how are you?"

"Mr. Mikaelson. What do I owe the pleasure to this call?" Her voice sounded cold.

He cursed under his breath and said "I want to meet you. Lunch at Stanley."

"I dont think …"

"Please Kara. I need to talk to you about something really important." It killed him to say this but now that he had decided he was onboard with it.

"Alright I will see you Stanley at three." She replied and disconnected.

He looked at the phone furiously but before he could do anything Jasmine's voice came through the intercom "Mr. Mikaelson team from Utopia is waiting for your in the conference room."

"I will be there in five minute. Get coffee for everyone." He needed hundred cups today. Meeting Kara and Caroline. God! When will this day end? He thought as he picked up his cell again and dialed Lucien's number. After telling him what he was supposed to do he picked up Utopia project file feeling glad that at least he will not be losing this project, he left for the conference room. There was loads to do with the project; all the progress they had made during the past few weeks was going to face a severe setback since he will have to shuffle the team working on it.

Klaus studied Kara's expression as she walked towards him in an hour wearing a blue tightfisted dress ending just shy of her knees. With a jolt he realized that this shade of blue was his favorite. Wondering if she dressed up for his benefit, he fixed a smile on his face despite the bad taste in his mouth and stood up to greet her. After she took her set and the waiter had come to pour wine in their glasses and left after taking their order, he said "I am so glad you came."

"Thank you for inviting me." She replied curtly.

Klaus said "Kara, what I am about to say you might find it strange but as soon as I realized it I knew that I had to tell you this."

"What?" she asked as she took a sip of her drink.

Swallowing his pride he said "I never realized how much I will miss you until yesterday and this morning was just a wakeup call for me. Not able to see you everyday is gut wrenching. I cannot do this."

For this satisfaction an unexpected shocked expressions appeared on her face "But Mr. Mikaelson…"

"I think you can call me Klaus."

"I dont understand what is going on." her tone was mirroring the confused expressions on her face.

"Yesterday I realized why I fired you."

"Why?"

He gave her one of his charming smiles, leaned forwards and said in a low husky voice "because that gave me an excuse to pursue you otherwise."

All of a sudden her cheeks flushed. "What do you mean?"

"I dont know when my feelings changed for you. From friend to something else but I want to explore them." He said, feeling dirty as the words were coming out of his mouth. _Was he cheating on Hayley?_ Guilt made his own cheeks burn.

"Are you serious Mr… Klaus? Do you really mean it?" There was no mistaking the sudden flux of excitement in her voice.

"Of course I mean it" he leaned in and grabbed her hands, caressing the back of it with his thumb imagining it to be Hayley's because that was the only way he could go through with it without giving himself away. "But I cannot reinstate you. I cannot have a relationship with you if you are my employee…"

"But what about your wife? Hayley." the corner of her mouth twisted and he flinched stopped himself from snatching his hands holding hers. She did hate Hayley, he just realized in shock. How come he missed all those signs. When did he become such a bad observer or was she an accomplished actress? He wondered as he took another sip of his drink.

He said, swallowing another bitter pill "that was a decision I had to make Kara. It was a moment of weakness which ended in her getting pregnant. I couldn't let my child born a bastard. You know how important that is to me."

 _'Of course she knew. She knew everything about him.'_ He looked down at his hand as it got wrapped up by Kara's when she twisted them and squeezed it soothing him.

"yes I know. And even though my heart hurts thinking about you and her I understand why you did that. But what about us?"

"I dont know. I just had to meet you and tell you how I feel about you."

"Oh" her face lit up to his annoyance. The person who was his friend was turning out to be different from what he knew of her.

"But?" She asked hesitantly.

"Do you trust me? When the time is right, you and I will be together. Kara?"

"What?" she smiled

"You will accept me with two kids right?"

"Of course Klaus." She said as she raised their locked hands to her lips.

"I think we should not do that in public." He said taking his hand back. The excuse worked in his favor as at the exact instance the waiter came with their order.

"You are right. Someone might see it." After he left Kara replied as she looked down at her food.

He smiled at her and then having no desire to spend any extra minute with her he looked at his wrist watch and said "unfortunately I have to go. That new girl Jasmine is … " seeing her flinching, he indulged her "she needs to learn a lot. She is not you and she is married so you dont have to worry about her."

"I dont mind helping her." She suggested.

He flinched. He didnt want her in the office with all this crucial changes going on right now. He shook his head giving her a smile, at least he hoped he managed it to led her down gently. "No. I want her to learn herself. Also I dont want people to start talking about us. Lets keep our affair outside the office. You are not my employee anymore so we can have whatever we want to do" ending with a wink.

Kara smiled shyly.

Controlling the urge to wipe that smile off her face he got up after saying "I am really sorry for ditching you like this. The lunch is on me. You must enjoy it. This is really good dish and I will call you."

The next couple of hours in the office were unproductive since he couldnt get rid of Kara's smug expressions so it almost slipped his mind about his meeting with Caroline. When she called and informed him that he she was waiting for him in the restaurant, he cursed but told her that he would be there in a few minutes and almost begged her not to leave. By the time he reached the restaurant he had put Kara behind and had a strategy on how to approach Caroline. He had to play it safe; convince her yet not betray Hayley's confidence in both about her true identity and her relationship to Hannah.


	23. Take me home - 2

**_A/N: the guest who is concern about Klaus's plan. Yes he has a plan. He has a plan to have a family that he always wanted :)._**

 ** _Synopsis: Klaus with the help of Marcel and Ben set up Kara. In the meanwhile Hayley finally gets to spend time with her kids._**

* * *

While the waiter was putting food on their table, Caroline was gaping at Klaus. When he left, she said "let me get this straight. You are selling Falcon. You have already decided. Now you are just telling me."

"I am not _telling_ you and I am not _selling_ it. I want to hand it over in exchange for Hannah and him serving ties with _my_ family. Of course I cannot do it without your consent even though you are silent partner." He couldnt help but add that last part.

"Damn it Klaus. I married Stefan for those shares and now you want me to give them up for the sister of the wife who _betrayed_ you." Caroline said angrily.

Ignoring the barb about Eden, he said "I am not asking you to give them up without getting something in return. I will give you the same amount of shares in Cyclone or even more in the new setup I am planning if you want to be more than the silent partner. Interested?"

"It is not just about shares, Klaus. It is something that dad gave me." Caroline confessed humbly.

Suddenly he felt guilty for what he was doing. Caroline loved Ansel and even though he knew she valued the financial aspect of her inheritance but it was the matter of her heritage given to her by Ansel, the person who was more than a father to her "I know Care and I am really sorry. I wish there was another way. Emerson's eyes are set on Falcon. He wants to damage me but if that is the price I have to pay to sever ties with him, Hope's life and get Hannah then I am willing to do so."

The determined glint in his eyes must have surprised Caroline. She said "Klaus dont jump on it. Think over it. Why do you even want Hannah?"

"I told you. For Hope. She is growing up and Hannah is the only connection to her mother. I dont want her to forget Eden." He said, grim faced "and for Hannah's sake. She is Eden's sister. I have a duty towards her for my daughter's sake especially when Emerson is not a fit father. No child should have to live with what she is going through. He didnt even visit his child while she was admitted to the hospital."

Caroline looked at Klaus as if she was looking at him for the first time. "I thought you didnt care about her. You never made an effort during your marriage."

He cursed under his lips "well now I do" banging his hand on the table rattling dishes attacking attention of the people around them. Lowering his voice a bit but still lacing with frustration he continued "What do you I need to do to convince you?"

"I… I am not sure. Give me some time to think over it."

He wanted to press the issue and he opened his mouth to persuade her further but then closed his mouth as a voice said _'If she were sure about it, wouldnt she have just refused it?'_

Feeling uplifted at the thought he dug in his food. After the supper he went back to the office and tried to finish the work he was unable to earlier.

* * *

Later that night when she entered the master bedroom after putting Hope to bed, he was already in the bed. She studied him as she shed her sweater and threw it causally on the chair. He looked lost, deep in thoughts. In fact if she had not read it wrong there was depression on his expressions making her question herself if she had pushed him beyond his limits.

She asked "is everything alright? You seemed preoccupied during the story time with Hope" But he didnt look at her. Having a suspicion that he had not heard her, she repeated the question finally getting his attention. He asked "what?"

"I asked if everything is alright?"

"Some business problem."

Before she could ask anything further his cell rang. She groaned at this continuous untimely interruptions whenever they got down to talk. Feeling frustrated she started to turn but noticed his raised eyebrows and the tension in his shoulders by the stiffening of them. She observed him as he got of the bed murmuring "I will be back" and left the room. Wondering who could it be and why did he not take the call in the bedroom, she went to the bathroom to change her clothes. When she came back he was still not back. Ten minutes later when she went to bed, he was still not back. When she woke up some time in the middle of night the empty spot next to her told her that he had not come back. With a disheartened sighed and closed her eyes again. She was not idiot not to realize that something was going on with Klaus and that something was terribly wrong.

* * *

Caroline put the cell down with a smile on her lips. She startled when she felt a pair of arms go around her waist pulling her into the solid male body.

"Why did you do that for?"

"I …." she leaned back into him and then whispered "I did that because I no longer need a reason to stay married to you."

Stefan turned her towards him, looked directly into her eyes as if looking for something and then with a smile, he dropped his lips on hers, his hand on her back, pulling her into his body. He swung her in her arms and carried to the bed.

* * *

In the meantime Klaus smiled as he put the cell down. Caroline had come through unexpectedly but on the other hand, getting her permission to sell the company meant that its was a done deal. He went to sit behind his desk to think about steps he had to take to ensure this transfer of the company to Emerson.

* * *

For the next couple of days Hayley could see that Klaus was spending less and less time at home while she was spending each and every second with Hope, getting to know her, bonding with her while at the same time trying to remain in touch with Hannah. One evening almost three weeks after her return from New York, while she was handing his shirt suddenly she had had enough of this. He had left again today before she had even woken up. She threw the shirt on the walking closet floor and went back to the room, picked up her cell, stared at it for a moment contemplating her decision and then called him. But to her dismay it went on ringing and ringing. Why was he not picking up? Was he in a meeting? With Kara? She wondered and then she tried his office but it kept on ringing. And she wondered if she was wrong about his whereabouts. Maybe he was in a meeting. After slight hesitation she dialed Kara's number. After a couple of rings, she heard her voice. "Hello."

Hayley said "hello Kara this is Mrs. Mikaelson."

"Mrs. Mikealson, what can I do for you?"

"I was looking for Klaus. Do you know where he is?"

"Mr. Mikaelson was here till an hour ago then he had to leave. I cannot tell you where. He didnt want to be disturbed."

She cursed "you are a bitch kara. I know he has told no such thing. Tell me where he is."

Kara said in the same tone, to her annoyance "Mrs. Mikealson I… cannot tell you that."

She disconnected her angrily and threw the cell on the bed. Taking deep breaths she tried to steady her racing heart; for the sake of their unborn child she shouldn't be taxing herself like this.

* * *

Klaus studied Hannah sleeping in her seat in the first class on the way back to Mystic falls. He was feeling pretty satisfied at what he had done despite the pang of loss in his heart. After spending night and day during the past couple of weeks, he and his lawyers had managed to draft a satisfactory contract which Emerson had accepted. The hardest point was when he had to talk to is employees about his decision to sell the company at the same time giving them assurance that he had their best interest at heart. He was as satisfied as he could be with the deal he had made with Emerson. He has lost chain of his hotels but all the current unfinished projects he had been working on were his, not to mention he had managed to get some of his employees with him since for some reason their contract specifically implied that they will only work for him, _not his company but him_. Looking at Jasmine putting blanket on Hannah he smile. She was proving to be an excellent personal assistant and he felt satisfied with his decision of making her his permanent PA. He turned his face towards the window to stare out of the airplane imagining Hayley reaction on seeing Hannah. _Hayley and Hope!_ He thought with a pang. He had ignored them especially Hayley ever since Hannah had fallen sick. For the past two weeks he had felt extremely guilty every time he laid with her. There were so many things he had not confided in her to not distress her unnecessary. He was banking on the positive outcome of the mission he was on to fix the damage those secrets were causing to their already crumbling marriage. Once again he looked towards Hannah and smiled as he recalled her excitement when she was informed merely a couple of hours ago that she will be living with him and Hayley from now onwards. It was not lost on her that the little girl was not at all concerned about when will she see her father next. Silently he wondered for the up tenth time how Ansel would have felt about all this; this company was his baby. Hoping that this father would have understood why he did that he closed his eyes looking forwards to starting the new venture- new empire from almost scratch.

When he reached home, to his disappointment she was not home. After telling Mia to settle down Hannah in one of the guest rooms he went to change his clothes too.

Hayley parked the car outside the house and got out angrily. _'Where the hell was he? She was his wife so why was he not treating her like that?'_ Despite her intention of living her life wiotut any expectations from Klaus she was miserable. She needed him. She felt pathetic for wanting him when he obviously didnt want her. When she opened the front door she felt strange but she stepped inside abruptly coming to a halt, the shopping bag slipped from her hand which Joseph quietly retrieved from the floor while she gaped at Klaus relaxing on the sofa reading a book. She who was wondering about his whereabouts not ten seconds ago glanced at her wrist watch and realized that it was only seven in the evening. She studied him for a moment before asking "what are you doing home so early?"

Klaus looked up, already aware of her presence but feigning not acknowledging it. Having prepared himself to be the target of her well deserved resentment, he was not disappointment when he heard the hurt in his tone and expressions and his guilt intensified. His gaze travelled from her tumbling hair to buttoned up coat revealing the cream shirt buttoned up to the neck, black trousers resting for a moment on her still flat stomach and then back to her eyes. For some reason seeing her made what he did worth it in-spite of the sense of loss at losing something he had worked for the past four years for something he still hoped to get. A strong suspicion that he had made the biggest mistake of his life was still lurking in the wake of the triumph he was anticipating in uniting mother and daughter. Keeping his cool he said "I was done with my work."

"Obviously. Otherwise why would you be home?" she responded tartly. She wanted to throw at him what Kara had told her but she didnt feel like it all of a sudden. Damn him! She didnt care enough to address it.

Despite his inner turmoil a smile spread on his lips. _She was not going to let him off the hook without a fight._ He asked "how are you feeling?"

"Why do you even care Klaus?" she replied sounding tired all of a sudden and tried to side step him but he grabbed her arm. Hayley spun towards him and said angrily "was that all? All your promises. I know you are upset with me about Hannah but if that is what is going to take to break all those promises you made to me, then I think we should consider our future."

"What are you talking about?" Panic flared deep inside him but he asked savagely. _Was he too late? Has she done something irreversible?_

"I am saying that if Hannah is going to remain a wall between us we need to consider about our future."

He looked at her speculatively and asked thoughtfully keeping the mounting panic in check "are you trying to tell me that you will leave me and Hope for Hannah?"

"No, damn it. I cannot do that. What is wrong with me? I cannot even have my own children with me." She said almost on the verge of crying.

Seeing her so distressed in this condition of hers made him forget about his own panic while intensified his guilt."Tell me what do you want Hayley and I will do anything to give you that." He grabbed her hands and beseeched her silently to trust him.

"I… I dont know what I want Klaus." She said suddenly losing all strength to fight with him as his arms went around her and held her in the circle of his arms.

A moment later she pushed him back wondering what was going on with her. These pregnancy hormones must be playing havoc on her. One minute she wanted to break him into tiny pieces and the next she was standing in his very arms wanting his support.

He asked indulgently "have you decided about Hannah?"

She lifted her chin and said "there is nothing to decide. Whether you like it or not, I will have Hannah back."

Taken aback by her assumption at he might not want Hannah in their lives he started "But…"

"But what if we are having another daughter? That is what you were going to say, right?"

When he once opened his mouth to refute it, she angrily turned away from him and started upstairs but he grabbed her arm once again.

"Come with me" he slipped his hand in hers and walked with her upstairs while she tried to free herself from his comforting arms which her treacherous body was falling pray to. She looked at him in confusion as he stopped in front of the guest room which was never used.

At the threshold he stopped and asked "do you trust me?"

She stared into his face, his eyes begging her to trust him. The image of that lipstick stain flashed through her mind and her eyes flashed.

Seeing the doubt playing on her face, the defiance in her chin and that flash in her eyes, with a resigned sigh he slowly swung the door open.

A moment later Hayley felt as if she couldnt breath and tiny black dots dancing in front of her eyes overpowered everything.

Next time when she opened her eyes, she was lying on the bed and Klaus was sitting beside him unbuttoning her shirt button.

"what happened? she asked "and what are you doing?"

She swat at his hand as his fingers continued to unbutton her shirt, her coat being already gone.

"I swear Eden if you start to power dress again, I am going to…" he gritted his teeth. Hayley pushed him away and sat up at once as he recalled what had caused her to faint "You kidnapped her?" She gasped.

"Now that is an interesting concept. Why didnt i think of it?" He mused.

 _'What was wrong with him? Why was he so mad at her?'_ She wondered seeing the fury on his face. '

"No, I didnt _kidnap_ her. I made a deal with your father."

"Deal! What sort of deal? What have you done?" She gasped, her face getting paler.

He cursed as he thrust a glass of water in her hand and said "that is between me and your father. Your concern is just that Hannah will live with us from now onwards."

" _No Klaus. My father._ " She protested clenching the glass so tightly that he was afraid that it might break.

"He is no longer part of our life."

"But…."

"Hayley, please I dont want to talk about it anymore. Can't you be happy that you have got Hannah in our lives." He said feeling frustrated that she was still not happy. Abruptly he stood up and left the room.

It was mid-night and he still didnt feel like going to bed. _Two damn weeks, endless hours and losing his company and she was still not happy. She still didnt trust him. What would make her happy? Was he doing all this for nothing?_ He wondered in frustration. _Yes he was guilty of what he did to her but will she never acknowledge any of his efforts ever again?_ He startled when his cell rang. It was Marcel saying "tomorrow we will take her down. From Lucien's report we have enough to follow up on the lead but if you still want her to confess then tomorrow."

Klaus pressed his fingers on his tired eyes. He was tired. He was angry. But this was a good distraction. A good cause, he hoped and something he had to do. So he said "yes. I want her to confess because spending time with her during the past two weeks showed me a side of her that I was not aware before. She can slip from the cracks until we have solid lead to pin her down."

Marcel said "okay then. Lets get her down tomorrow evening after five."

"Great" Klaus said looking forward to something else to keep his mind distracted from the woman currently residing in his bedroom.

With an exhausted sigh he headed to the bed wanting to sleep, for some weird reason feeling extremely tired.

Seeing the bed unoccupied, bedroom and bathroom empty, his wrist watch telling him it was ten at night, a time normally when she would be asleep, his heart rate picked up. He immediately checked in Hope's room where she was not found and then after slight hesitation he went to the guest room. The door was closed so he pushed it a little not wanting to disturb her. Seeing her curled up in the rocking chair, sleeping he smiled, put a blanket on her and left the room.

 ** _Flashback Klaus_**

 ** _Almost two weeks back._**

 _He picked up his cell and sat up when he heard Lucien's voice._

 _"Klaus you will not believe what I have discovered. I have to show you for you to believe."_

 _"Meet me in Azure. penthouse in half an hour" He didnt want to conduct such a meeting where there could be unwanted ears._

 _Forty five minutes later, Lucien put a file in front of him. When he opened it, he jerked back as he saw a picture of him and Kara on their wedding day. He exclaimed "what the hell?" and then he hastily scrambled through rest of the pictures; all of them of her and him in different posses, different backgrounds."I guess congratulations are in order." Lucien said._

 _When he jerked up he noticed how hard he was trying to keep his face straight._

 _"Keep it to yourself. What the hell is this?" He snapped looking up at him._

 _"I am not sure man. This chick is seriously obsessed with you." He said, himself studying one of the pictures._

 _"No shit" He said as he picked up a wedding picture featuring him holding Kara's hand. The background was vaguely familiar. Suddenly he sat up straight as he recalled where he had seen this background; his and Eden'd wedding church. While at the same time the memory of her neighbor and that young woman claiming to be his wife's friend mistaking him of her husband flashed through his eyes._

 _"This is Eden and my wedding." He murmured scratching his chin. "This is proof that she photoshopped those other pictures?" He asked looking at lucien._

 _"Maybe. But listen to this." Lucien said "I talked to two of her neighbors and both swore that Kara's husband Nik Stanton lived separately because his family didnt know about this marriage and he wanted to keep it that way. They didnt want him marrying anyone other than the girl they had selected for him and get this…" he paused for a dramatic pause for Klaus's annoyance "some sort of business merger."_

 _"How did she get away with it?" He asked shocked at the extent to which Kara had gone._

 _"You will not believe what I have seen in my life as PI but I have to say this girl has covered all her tracks. She is good." He complimented._

 _Klaus picked up another picture from the pile and was trying to figure out what place was it when Lucien said "her room. As you can see it is shrine of pictures of you and her…. Oh and take a look at this…" he shuffled through the papers and slipped one on top of it._

 _"Do you realize what that means?" He asked as Klaus stared at the marriage certificate of Kara and Niklaus Mikaelson staring back at him._

 _"What the hell?"_

 _"I told you this girl is good. This marriage certificate looks real but it is fake. I can prove it just like we can prove those photos are photoshopped but this just goes to prove that she has thought about all the details."_

 _"what about the kidnapping?" He asked still in daze._

 _"Nothing on that. She has covered her tracks really well on that account. Actually if it were not for these photographs we wouldn't have figured out if she was behind the photoshop too. She is good."_

 _"Don't get too excited." Klaus snapped angrily._

 _Lucien laughed but then continued seriously "We have to make her confess if we want to capture her because this all… this is her word against us. Because if she does not confess to anything, her defense can easily be harmless infatuation."_

 _"Harmless?" Klaus said incredulously "she broke my marriage."_

 _"Yeah I understand that but no court will not see it a really big crime, enough to put her behind bars. Only that kidnapping charge will do that." He said studying the photo he was holding. "Its been a long time someone has managed to impress me…" he scratched his head staring at the marriage certificate and then muttered "too bad she is proving to be an unstable person."_

 _Two hours later he was sitting opposite Marcel bringing him up to date with the information Lucien had provided and reaching the same conclusion that Lucien had come up with._

 ** _end flashback_**

He closed his eyes as he recalled their secret rendezvous ever since. Hiding that from Hayley was the biggest challenge he had been facing, the guilt on top of that was not helping his situation but he didnt want her any unnecessary stress. But it will end tomorrow. Tomorrow he will make her confess to all her crimes. And for that he had a perfect script in his mind. He just hoped that she delivers.

* * *

When Hayley woke up her gaze fell on Hannah. She just stared at her, this time not panicking like she had done last couple of times when she had woken in the middle of night and seen her daughter sleeping a few steps away from her. _Deal! He had said that he had made a deal with her father. Deal with the devil!_ Revolted at the idea that her daughter was part of some stupid deal, she surged up on her feet let the blanket fall on the ground. She had to talk to him. What price had he paid to get Hannah?

 _Do you really want to know?_ A voice asked her. _You got your daughter. Shouldnt that be enough?_

She stood facing Hannah and then shaking her head, realizing that she had to talk to Klaus, she chanced a few minutes of Hannah panicking, waking up in an unfamiliar surroundings and left the room. Feeling slightly ashamed at her earlier assumptions that he was ignoring her when in fact he had been trying to secure her daughter's future, she entered the room but then stopped as her gaze fell on empty bed. The wide open bathroom door screamed of its un-occupancy. She groaned with regret as she realized that he had already left. With heavy heart she started to turn when he entered the room.

Their eyes met, Klaus groaned. He wanted to leave before she woke up; the guilt on his secret meeting with Kara was making him conscious. But now that they were facing each other, he asked "how are you feeling? Is she up?"

"No she is not. I .. I don know what to say Klaus. What you did…"

Suddenly he didnt want to hear anything, any gratitude. This was not something he did to earn her approval. No. He did it because that was the right thing to do. He cut her off by saying "i have to leave. I will be late."

He side stepped her dismissing her fallen expressions because he knew that if he indulged in his instinct to comfort her he wouldnt want to leave and now was not the time to quit. After he had dealt with Kara, there will be time. He picked up his cell which he had forgotten and left while she just stood at the same spot staring at him.

* * *

Hayley felt lost and close to tears. _Why would he do that and then ignore her like that?_ She asked herself. _Was he coerced by his father to make a deal he didnt want to make like last time for her sake, her daughter's sake?_ She wondered in dread. Now that the thought had come in her mind, she was convinced that was the case. Damn daddy! She cursed her father and with heavy heart thinking about Hannah she went to her room. When she opened the door she was up and was sitting on the bed.

"Hey Hannah. Good morning." She greeting her hoping that she was sounding cheerful.

"Good morning Hayley." Hannah replied smilingly. "I am going to be living with you. Mr. Mikaelson… Klaus said that I could live with you. Can I?"

The eagerness in her voice combined with the fear that she might now allow it was not hidden by her and it broke Hayley's heart.

She walked to her and said "Of course you can Hannah. Klaus told me last night but you were sleeping when I got home. I am sorry I was not home to welcome you. I am so happy that you will be living with us. Hope will have a sister."

"But I am her aunt. Aren't I?" She asked, the confusion on her innocent face confirming Hayley's decision of not telling Hannah about her true relationship with her right now; it was going to be too complicated for her.

She smiled "of course you are and imagine you have never met her. Come. Lets meet her and then after breakfast we will go shopping for your new clothes."

Hannah stood up at once and said shyly "I have some clothes" she looked around the room and asked. "Where is my bag?"

"Mia put your clothes in this closet." Hayley pointed towards the walking closet. "but I think you will need more."

She didnt want anything her father had bought for her daughter in this house. Her heart was so overwhelmed and afraid that she was still dreaming that she took a few steps and touched her shoulder. Taking a calming breath she said "lets go."

"I have to brush my teeth. Sister Katherine said that we should always brush our teeth first thing in the morning."

Her throat felt tightened as she realized that it was a stranger who had taught her what should have been her right. Not trusting herself to speak she motioned her to the attached bathroom and then clearing her throat she walked to it, opened it, and put paste on her toothbrush.

She stood at the door while Hannah brushed her teeth and washed her face. She stepped back when Hannah looked at her shyly showing her desire to close the door. With a pang at this wall between herself and her own flesh and blood she walked to her unmade bed and started fixing it only to be interrupted by Mia's voice "Mrs. Mikeaslon I can do that."

Hayley smiled at the nanny and straightened, her back slightly hurting after having slept in the rocking chair the whole night. She smiled down at Hope who toddled to her and sat down with her on the carpet.

"Did you brush your teeth baby?"

"uhun" Hope nodded her heard enthusiastically while showing her pearly white teeth while Mia fixed Hannah's bed.

The bathroom door opened revealing Hannah. Hayley said "Hannah come meet Hope. Hope this is your aunt Hannah."

Hannah gave Hope a very shy smile who was looking at her curiously. And then she got in Hayley's lap whose heart was too overwhelmed; her children were finally with her, all of them as she splayed her hand on her stomach contently.

She cleared her throat and said "Hope is shy Hannah. Give her some time and she will warm up to you. Come lets go have breakfast. Then we have loads to do today. Mia lead the way." She got up and looked down at her pajamas. "Hmm why dont you both wait for me here while I change my clothes."

While Hayley and her girls spend the day in the mall with Mia Klaus had arranged to meet with Kara at Rendezvous, the coffee shop, and to meet with Marcel at Azure to wear a wire. Rest of the day he spent in the penthouse of Azure since he was meeting Marcel. As he paced in the room going through his plan to deal with Kara, he couldnt shake the image of her wobbling lips which she had unsuccessfully tried to hide from him. He just hoped that their relationship was not beyond repair stage. At half past five after wearing the wire, he headed to the coffee shop praying that this was the last day to this charade. When he reached there, to his surprise she was already there. Bracing himself for the final confrontation for which he had been paving the path for the past two weeks yet dreading the outcome, he walked towards her.

Kara looked at him with a smile on her face. He took his seat as he said, the words flowing out of his mouth with such ease that it even surprised himself. "I am sorry I got late. Hayley …" he rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Klaus how long will this continue?" She asked, looking at him exasperatedly, "us having to meet like this. I want to be with you all the time. I dont want to hide our relationship."

"Kara I know how you feel but right now we have to keep it discreet. Its hardly been a few weeks since we got married and she is carrying my child." he tried his best to present himself as grieved party.

Kara bit her lip and said thoughtfully "the thought of you sharing your room with her makes me nauseous. I cannot believe that I have to go through that again."

"What do you mean?" Klaus asked, surprised at what she was talking about.

"Eden… It broke my heart when you got married to her."

"Oh Kara. I wish I had known but you know I had to get married to her for my father. You know I would do anything for my family regardless of how they feel about me."

"What about Hayley? She is your family now too." She asked slyly.

"I dont love her." He responded indifferently.

"Oh." She gave him a bright smile.

"And when the time comes, after the baby is born, I will make you my life partner. I have a plan."

"Care to elaborate your plans?" she asked him giving him the smile that he had started to hate.

"I dont want to jinx them." He replied with a smile on his lips, grabbing her hand to distract her. After a small pause during which he studied her, he said "I wish…"

"What do you wish?"

Klaus gulped down the cause at having to say what he was going to say "I wish it were you who were carrying my child."

"Oh Klaus. I can… I want to. I wish you would tell me what you are planning. Maybe I can help you with it" She started caressing his hand with her thumb to his annoyance. Feeling revolted at the thought that someone could fall for this cheesy line.

"I am so glad that you feel that way but I think Caroline can help me better."

"What do you mean?"

He said, casually making sure he was using the correct name "I think she photoshopped those photos of Elijah and Eden."

"What?" Suddenly she let go of his hands and leaned back. "Photoshopped?"

"Oh yes. Didnt you know?" He leaned forward making his face excited and continued in a conspiratorial tone "Eden never had an affair with Elijah. But Caroline knew how upset I was with that marriage so she …. you know."

"How do you know it was her?" Kara asked, after a short pause.

"I am not sure but who else could it be? She loves me and cares about me. No one more than her …."

"You are wrong!" To his intense pleasure, taking the bait she abruptly snapped. "I love you more than her."

Klaus smiled indulgently. Lucien was right. He should play more on that angle so he said "of course love but she …we have a connection. You wouldnt do something like that for me."

 _"You dont know that!_ " She said loudly, retaliating.

"What are you saying?" Klaus asked, surprised.

"How can you not see this Klaus?" She asked exasperated.

"Are you saying that you would do what Caroline did."

"I am saying that she didnt do that. _I did._ " She almost shouted and got up with a jerk.

 _Yes!_ He almost shouted with triumph but wait, she was leaving. He couldn't allow that so he hastily got up, grabbed her arm and pulled her back, his heart was racing. Now was the time to get her to confess more. "Kara… listen what ….what do you mean?"

"I love you." She said and then leaned forwards and kissed him smack on his lips disregarding where they were standing or who else was watching them. To his dismay she just kissed him and he couldnt do anything other than respond.

* * *

In the meantime after having spend the day with her girls shopping, she still couldnt believe this was happening but she couldnt shake the feeling that this deal whatever it was was the last straw for Klaus and they were back to the square one. Feeling thoroughly depressed, at the loss of what they could have on their second chance together, she glanced around and her gaze fell on the Rendezvous. She turned the car in the parking lot and said "I think I will have some coffee." After parking it she said to Mia "You girls wait here. I will be back in five minutes" and got out of the car. A minute later she walked in and stood in line to order for coffee and then her world turned upside down as her gaze fell on two people holding each other in each other's arm, their lips locked against each other. She blinked as if doing so will make it disappear. She must have stumbled or something, she realized when the person standing behind her said "hey are you okay?"

With difficulty she dragged her gaze from Klaus and Kara and looked at the old lady studying her curiously and nodded in daze. Glancing back at Klaus she stepped back and retreated the coffee shop on unsteady legs. She stood outside for a few minutes trying to control the sudden rage building in her. _Was the deal he made with her father so bad that it send him tumbling from her bed into Kara's arm?_ She thought in dismay. She looked back contemplating going back and catching him red handed but then she shook her head feeling revolted even thinking about looking at him let alone sharing same space with him. She walked to the car telling herself that she will not tolerate this. _Him cheating on her?!_ She thought incredulously. _He didnt do that last time. Does that mean the deal he made this time was worse than the last time? What can be worse than that? Is this the reason he had been coming home late? Is that he got Hannah; so that he could continue his affair thinking that she would not say anything on account of being grateful for what he did for Hannah? She cannot live with him anymore. She does not care if she has to reveal her secret to anyone. She will not live with him._ She decided fiercely as she opened the car door.

She glanced at Mia when she asked "you didn't get your coffee?"

"No. Lost interest." Looked back at her daughters engaged with their toys and with each other, her eyes brimmed up. Her hand went to her stomach. Yes she can do that. She does not need Klaus. With a pang she started the engine.

* * *

It was taking all his willpower not to push her away from him but he needed that confession. Finally he was the one who stepped back, controlled the urge to wipe his lips clean. Keeping the indulgent smile plastered on his face he led her back to her chair and sat her down. Kara took a deep breath and continued "I love you so much that it hurts seeing you with someone else. Do you realize the torture I had to go through every day even thinking about you sharing your bed with that whore of wife of yours and now another whore." Spitting fire from her eyes she continued "You dont even realize what I am capable of doing for you. I even tried to get rid of Hayley…." She said, her voice wobbling so much that Klaus almost felt sorry for her but he reminded himself of how he had felt when Elijah had told him about the photoshop and pressed further "What do you mean you tried to get rid of Hayley?" begging silently for her to admit to the kidnapping. And then he feigned another gasp "are you saying you got her kidnapped?"

Kara looked at him through those beseeching eyes "my only regret is that Hope got kidnapped too."

 _'You have to make her confess'_ Marcel's voice echoed in his mind. "Kara what did you do that for? Hope could have gotten hurt." He responded in genuine fury.

She immediately grabbed his hand and said "of course not. In fact because of Hope, that woman survived. Hope was never meant to be kidnapped. That whore was but unfortunately she was babysitting Hope that day."

There was so much contempt on her face that Klaus was shocked that he had never noticed that before. He vaguely recalled Hayley telling him about her meeting with Kara. Suddenly another thought occurred to him but was this really the time to introduce new things here. Maybe she will confess to that too but right now…

"What do you mean?" Squashing his instinct to jump in for Hayley's defend while making conscious effort to keep sure that he was not interchanging Hayley and Eden's names.

"Lets leave it here Klaus. What is done is done. When I think about it…." She clenched her fist on the table and for the first time Klaus entertained the thought that there might be something seriously wrong with Kara while at the same time chill went thought him at what Kara was insinuating.

Getting no signal from Ben he continued pressing"I am surprised to this day why they didnt ransom the money? They could have gotten anything in exchange for Hope."

"It was never meant to be ransom demand." She replied, shaking her head.

"So?" He pressed once again.

"I… can we forget about all of this please? We are together now. Past has no place in our life."

"Of course." He said smiled indulgently. "I was just curious to the extent someone would go for me. You know my family abandoned me and then because of Ansel, the man who should have been a father to me, I had to live with Eden for one dam year. Worst year of my life. Finding out that you did all this for me. You have no idea how that makes me feel."

"Oh Klaus my heart aches for what you had to suffer all your life and then you had to get married to Eden. I had to do something. I couldnt see you like that; so unhappy and miserable. I wish you didnt have to spend that one miserable year with her but anyways it was worth it in the end. Finally you were free of her but Klaus… if you knew those photos were photoshopped then why were you so angry with Elijah?"

He gave a forced laugh ignoring the pang as he recalled how he really had felt when those pictures were unearthed "That was all a drama to make it look believable. Do you honestly believe that if I didnt know that I would have been fine with Elijah later?"

She laughed and said "of course not." Looking straight into his eyes she said "you must feel something for Eden. She was after all you child's mother."

"An unfortunate connection that I cannot change even if I want to." His neatly cut finger nails were biting into his palm with all the lies he was being forced to say.

"Oh Klaus…I dont know what to say. I knew you didnt care for her but hearing it from your mouth is like a treat."

When he just looked at her she asked smilingly "why are you looking at me like this?"

"I just cannot believe what you did for me."

"You have no idea what I can do for you."

Since Ben was still quiet he knew he was not still satisfied so he continued "what better than the photoshop that compromised" rolled his eyes "my marriage and kidnapping that would have taken care of the potential problem?" giving her an encouraging smile in the end.

"Yes. You surprise me you know. I thought you would be upset."

"Why would I be upset? You did all this for me, to show that you love me. I am convinced that no one love me as much as you do."

"Oh Klaus" her expressions wanting him to gag but he refrained from doing so.

"Now lets not talk about the past and think about our future, how are we going to make that happen?" Her eyes suddenly shone and she said "Klaus you know what…." but stopped talking when they heard a voice " Niklaus?"


	24. Quenched - 2

**_Thanks for wonderful reviews. I hope you like the wrap up too. A bit longer chapter. Enjoy :)_**

 ** _Synopsis: While Kara is facing charges for her crimes, Klaus must do everything to hold on to secure the grand prize._**

* * *

He groaned at the familiar voice, Kara's hand slipped from his grasp and he looked up to stare into Elijah's thunderous expressions.

His face was livid with fury. Klaus dragging his attention to the young woman and the child standing next to him whom he recognized at once. Elijah's son. His gaze went back to Elijah's which lacked all the warmth. Cursing the circumstances of their meeting he said "Elijah. What a pleasant surprise. What are you doing here?"

"I brought.." his gaze flickered between Kara and him in confusion and seemed lost at words. To cover up the awkward silence the young brunette said, to his utter amusement "hi, my name is Gia. This is Henrik. Henrik this is your uncle Klaus Mikaelson, I assume."

"Nice to finally meet you Gia. I have heard a great deal about you. And Henrik, I assume." He looked down at the boy who was smiling at him shyly. He was spitting image of Elijah, he couldnt help but notice.

He turned towards Kara and said "Kara. She is my…" he paused for an awkward moment and then continued "friend" ignoring Elijah's hostile gaze. "We were just catching up."

Gia smiled as she shook Kara's hand and then said "its nice to meet you Klaus and Kara. We were just here for our coffees. Elijah says that they have best coffee in Mystic Falls.

A spontaneous smile appeared on Klaus's lips as he recalled how much Eden loved this place. Wondering if she still liked it, he inclined his head absentmindedly as he watched their awkward departure. Suddenly he felt very anxious at the prospect of Hayley walking on them; if Elijah could walk on them then why not her? Running his hand over his suddenly gotten sweaty nape he groaned inwards, scanned the coffee shop impulsively. _Elijah! He will want to know what was going on, most definitely before the day ends._ He was sure of that fact as he was sure of his own existence. He startled when he felt a soft touch on his hand. Reluctantly dragging his attention back to her, he chided himself. _He was losing his focus. Pay attention. He is too close to lose. Where were they?_ He wondered but before he could say anything Kara was asking "I asked, was that Mr. Mikaelson son?"

"Yes. Long story. I will tell you some other time." He said dismissively and then prompted enthusiastically "You were telling me about something."

"Oh yeah. When you come to my apartment tonight…" His expressions must have given away something because she stopped talking at once and then with a sigh she continued "come on Klaus we had been sneaking behind her back for the past two week. Isn't it about time we take our relationship to next level?"

"Of course" He put on the mask once again and smiled indulgently.

"And when you come, I will show you exactly what I have in mind for us."

The twinkle in her eyes made a drop in his stomach. He groaned inwards but said what was expected of him "really? I am now intrigued." he paused.

"Oh you will love it." She said smilingly.

"Now I cannot wait. Lets leave now."

"Lets go."

Half an hour later when Klaus stepped into her bedroom he was shocked beyond belief despite him already being aware of them because of Lucien's report. He moved from picture to picture with blood roaring in his ear, recognizing the backgrounds and the original photos; photos from his and Eden's honeymoon, from their social gatherings, his and Kara's photos taken on business functions which she attended as his assistant photoshopped to look romantic. _Lucien was right. She was good._ Silently complimenting her talent he strolled from one picture to another. He turned towards her and she smiled "see I told you. I am good. I … this is what I envisioned for us. Do you like it?"

When he remained quiet, she asked "are you upset with me?" sounding anxious.

"Of course not." he said solemnly "I am upset with myself for not seeing all this before." Taking a deep breath he continued "if I had seen this before, a lot of headache could have been avoided. You are good at this thing." He pointed towards the pictures and then placing the wedding picture back on the table, he walked to the one on the wall and said "this is .. this is from Caribbean. I only went there on my honeymoon. How did you get this one?"

"Oh you dont want to know." She said dismissively but he couldn't help notice the sudden shine that had come in her eyes. He had a feeling that if he pressed she would gladly tell him how exactly she got those photos. _In her eyes she was not committing a crime- invasion of privacy. She was doing it for love._ He mused disgustingly. Now that he was privy to what she was up to, he could read her like the back of his hand. But all of a sudden he didnt want to know. He felt nauseous as he thought of their private moments witnessed by Kara and who knows who. Looking at those pictures he wondered if she listened to them too or just watched? He really didnt want to know. It was taking all his strength not to wrap his fingers around her scrawny neck. Wanting to wrap all this up quickly he asked "so who was the person who kidnapped Hayley?"

"Some guy I found on internet." She laughed "Can you believe it? It is so easy to find people like that. You just call them, tell them that you will give them ten thousand and they are wiling to do anything. They dont even know who hired them. All they are concern is the money." rolling her eyes in the end.

"Got her" Ben's voice was a music to his ear.

He turned towards her and said "you shouldn't have done that."

"What do you mean? she asked confused at the sudden change in his tone but before Klaus could reply the door opened with a bang and Marcel charged in with a few more people.

Kara stared at Klaus who was looking at her with hatred. As she watched he undid his shirt and Marcel walked to him and took off the mike of his shirt. Keeping his eyes on Kara he asked Marcel "did you get everything?"

"We got her." Marcel replied with a grin.

"What is going on?" Kara asked, looking around in confusion.

"Cuff her" Marcel said to one of the officers.

Suddenly understanding what was going on Kara turned towards him and said incredulously while pushing the officer away from him "you trapped me. Why? I thought you loved me."

"Loved you? You are as delusional as you are psycho." He looked around the room once again in disgust and then back at her "believe me Kara if you were the last woman on Earth, I wouldnt look at you twice" his tone becoming so harsh in the end that for a moment she lost the remaining color from her face.

"We would have been great. We would have been happy" she suddenly lashed at him physically and with words, forgetting all her demure while a young officer tried to detain her, her face twisted with so much hatred that for a moment Klaus didnt recognize that it was the same person who had worked for him for the past four years "but you had to find whores for yourself. That is what you think of yourself. You think you deserve whores; the ones who were willing to sell themselves for money who don't even give a damn about you. I love you. I care about you. I even got my hair dyed to brunette and changed my wardrobe…."

"Take her away." Klaus said unable to listen to any more, feeling disgusted with himself that he once thought of that woman as his friend.

He turned to Marcel and said "so what do we do now?"

"Go to station and finish with some processing and then we …" he pointed towards Ben who said "we have a solid case against her. This…" he looked around and said "this is crazy but we have got her."

A glance at his wrist watch when he parked his car outside his home couple of hours later during which he took care of paperwork for Marcel told him that it was late. He stretched his body as he stepped out of the car. He was very tired and not sure how he felt; being manipulated and played by the person he trusted was not a good feeling but on the upside everything was over now. The thought that she was planing to kill Hayley still shook him. He just wanted to go in and hold her while he confided in her about his activities of past few weeks and… well confide in her about everything. Period. He was looking forward to their long overdue talk before having to deal with Elijah; whose multiple calls he had ignored during the past few hours. Hoping that Elijah had taken the hint and will not try to contact him again, not tonight at least he unlocked the main door. By tomorrow everything will be alright and they will be able to put their past behind. Anticipating her reaction, he stepped in the quiet home. After handing over his bag to Joseph and dismissing him for the night saying that he already had dinner, he headed upstairs while Joseph went to the study to put his bag there. After quickly checking on Hope, peeking in guest room only to see Hannah fast asleep, enjoying the sense of contentment at seeing her he turned to his room. As he entered his room he stopped in his track when he saw that she was up. In fact was standing near the window staring out, the moonlight bathing the room in white. He turned on the light, closed the door behind him while at the same time his gaze went to the bag near the foot of the bed and his heart fell. _He was too late._

Hayley turned towards the door as the room bathed in the yellow light and then turned back, grabbed the first thing she could get hold of and threw it at him. If he had not ducked it would have hit straight on the chest "what the hell?" He gasped bewildered but he had hardly taken a step forward when she threw herself at him with punches and fists.

"You bastard. With everything you did to me, you were not satisfied? Does giving me Hannah in exchange for whatever stupid deal you made with me father justify you cheating on me? I hate you" she slapped him one more time, angrily brushed away the tear that had escaped her eye without her knowledge. _Was she crying? For him?_ She thought angrily. Feeling disgusted with herself she turned away from him but he pulled her back shocked at what he was hearing and asked "What…" but she had already raised her hand only to be held by his this time followed by his confused tone "stop it."

Grabbing her hands, trying to restrain her struggle to free herself, he finally managed to pin her against the wall to the other side of the room so that their conversation remain somewhat private but she was hysterical. To stop her hysteria he dropped his mouth on her mouth then yelped when she bit him. "Let me go."

"No. You will stop screaming at me and tell me what exactly is going on here" He ground, wiping the blood from his lip from the cuff of his shirt.

Hayley felt a tinge of guilt at seeing the blood but she continued to look at him defiantly.

She huffed at his arrogance. _Did he really think that he will get away with it?_ "You cheating bastard. I saw you with Kara today. You promised me that there was nothing going on between you and her."

At once, the realization dawn on him. He cursed, his worst fear becoming reality. He took a deep breath to grasp control of situation "there is _nothing_ going on between us."

"I saw you with my own eyes Klaus. How can you lie?" She said angrily.

"I am not lying. Listen to me." He replied getting agitated.

"Why should I believe you?" She asked in the same tone as she tried to push him away, desperately wanting to create distance between them.

" _I am not cheating on you._ I will tell you what I was doing with Kara but before that you have to tell me one thing. Think before you attack me once again."

She couldn't believe his arrogance. _He thought he could distract her?!_ Feeling revolted she huffed once again "I cannot believe it. I just cannot fucking believe it."

"This type of language does not suit you Eden. Now answer me." His tone becoming steel.

Ignoring her flashing eyes and to stop her from saying something she might regret later he hastily continued "When you met Kara on your de… no listen" seeing her rolling her eyes angrily, raising her hands in the air "for the debriefing, did you by any chance leave your cell phone alone with her."

Hayley opened her mouth to give him another piece of her mind but then stopped when the images of that rendezvous flashed through her eyes and she said in daze "yes" the anger slightly slipping from her tone replaced by confusion.

But that instant smile on his face ignited her anger in a flash and she punched him angrily on his chest which managed to wipe that smile off of his face.

While he said "ouch" she just stared back at him and then suddenly the anger drained from her and her mind cleared for a moment and she gasped "oh my god. _She_ blocked your number."

"Yes." Klaus said calmly, massaging his chest where she had punched " _and_ she photoshopped those photos and she kidnapped _you_ , not Hope, _you_ and she didnt give me all your messages _without_ my knowledge or _consent_. Today we finally got her."

"You got her?" She inquired, anger totally replaced by shock now.

"Marcel, me and Ben. I first suspected fowl play when she made me miss the ultrasound appointment." Instant anger flashed in her eyes once again. He gave her a tight smile and continued "you were right in suspecting her. I went to see her that day. Remember when I left for New York after that appointment, I had to go for something? That was where I went. She didnt admit it but I fired her."

"You fired her?" she asked in shock. Anymore shock and she would faint. She pushed him away from her once again as he had closed the distance between them without her even knowing about it and stumbled to the bed unable to stand any further.

He asked, getting worried at seeing her pale complexion "are you feeling alright?"

"Yes I am fine." she snapped but at the same time took the glass of water, he picked up from the side table and offered to her as he sat next to her.

Gulping the water down, pressing on her aching temples she said "continue."

He looked at her worryingly for a second but then said "Yes I fired her. You didnt really believe that I would keep her on job after what I had discovered?" When she didnt say anything he continued "Anyways I confided in Marcel about my suspicion." Wondering if he should continue seeing how pale she had gotten but wanting to put everything behind them finally he continued "but I had to leave for New York …"

" _For Hannah. You didnt tell me about that too._ " She said accusatory.

He smiled, still tense and doubtful about continuing it. "I didnt want to build up your hopes unnecessarily not to mention give you stress. And I had a feeling that you wouldnt have let me go through with it if you knew. Anyways back to the story. We keep on getting side tracked. Getting Hannah from you father proved to be more difficult than I realized but I was determined to get her so after coming back from there I got on with it."

"What did you…"

"Not now…While on that, I came up with a plan for Kara to confess everything. Since I had fired her, I had to gain her trust back."

Seeing him averting his gaze for a second her heart sank and something told her that she didnt want to know but she asked braving herself for the worst."What did you do?" As soon as the words were out she felt extremely proud of herself, her tone didnt deceive her inner turmoil.

"I asked Lucien to dig into her past. In the meantime I asked her to meet me and I continued to meet her ever since to gain her trust, to make her believe that I love her and I would do anything for her." Seeing her eyes glow in anger her he hastily continued "and she finally dropped her guards and today she confessed to me about everything."

"Everything?"

"Before going to New York for Hannah's illness, I met a woman who told me that she was my wife's best friend and she was really excited to see me, meeting her friends's husband. I thought she was a friend of yours. I was going to ask you about her that day but when I got home you told me about Hannah…"

"But I dont have any friend." Hayley protested.

"Do you know how pathetic that sounds? But we will discuss that later…" he said drily "yes I know that now. That suspense was solved when Lucien found out that Kara's neighbor was not senile."

"What neighbor?"

He smiled ruefully "On the way back to home from New York the first time when we went to see Hannah in the hospital, I went to Kara's apartment to get some files" her eyes flashed with anger again but he dismissed them this time and continued "an old neighbor of hers thought I was Kara's husband."

"What?" Hayley shouted and then immediately bit her lips as she realized what she had done.

"Before I could ask her anything Kara got there and led me believe that poor woman was senile and was no medicine. _That old woman, the neighbor_ , Lucien proved was not senile after all. Lucien's investigation revealed that Kara had told her friends and family that she was my wife. We had gotten married against my family's wishes hence the big secret. So you see that woman I met before leaving for New York was Kara's friend."

"But…" Hayley asked in confusion. The complexity of the situation made her forget all her anger and resentment. There was too much going on behind their back, she realized. _That bitch Kara._

"Eden, today she actually showed me her room and you will not believe it.…"

"You went to her apartment today again?" She gasped.

"Eden…." hearing the accusation and hurt in her voice he protested in exasperation but then with a sigh he continued "I had to get to the bottom of everything. Anyway the room was a shrine of pictures of me and her. Some of them from _our_ honeymoon which she had photoshopped."

"Oh god. My head is hurting."

"You should lie down. We can continue this tomorrow." He at once said, his voice laced with worry.

" _NO._ I want to hear everything." She replied, shaking her head "our honeymoon photo?"

"Yes she had been at it for a while. That pictures of you and Elijah, that was you and me from our honeymoon." He explained "I am surprised you didnt notice that."

"I didnt have time to dwell on it." She snapped back "not my favorite picture but I gather…."

He put his hand on her mouth to stop her from going on and then his legs felt weak when he felt the softness of her lips against his palm. Feeling his desire wakening up even in this current situation he groaned inwards while keeping an eye contact with her and to his pleasant surprise he noticed her pupil dilating too.

"How do you know that?" she asked in muffled voice.

"What? That picture was from our honeymoon?" When she nodded he continued "Elijah had already proven two years back that it was me and you in that photo but since I didnt look into who could have done that I never figured out how it happened." His eyes still locked with hers, a particular part of his anatomy getting harder by the second and then for his own sanity he removed his hand from her lips.

"Tell me rest" she said calmly this time.

"Today I was wearing a wire, we recorded everything. The police apprehended her couple of hours ago for putting you and Hope in danger."

Hayley didnt know what to do, how to react except for gaping at him, processing everything. Suddenly she stood up angrily, angry at how much they had suffered because of that stupid Kara. She swayed but swat his hand as he tried to hold her.

"Why would she do that?" Hayley asked, having an idea still wanting to get it confirmed.

"Because unlike you she loves me. You were right." He grabbed her arm and pushed her back on the bed.

She pushed him away but stayed sitting this time afraid that her legs might not hold her upright "I dont know what she sees in you." Hayley said angrily, feeling insanely uncomfortable with the concept of another woman loving him.

"To be fair I never gave _her_ a reason to hate me" he paused for a moment before continuing "unlike you."

"You are damn right. You have given me plenty of reasons to hate you. You didnt trust me. You took away my child from me. You threatened me. You threw me out of your home. You degraded me. You cast me out of your life without a single thought. You never gave me a chance to defend myself. I will never ever forgive you." She was suddenly shouting, stood up and walked away from him.

He ran his hand over his head and said "Eden…"

"Hayley" she snapped turning back to him.

"Hayley I…"

"What happens next time if someone gives you an other picture of me with another guy." She asked in the same tone.

His jaw clenched and he said "I will…"

"You _will_ react the same way." Hayley shouted back.

"Yes!" he suddenly shouted back. "You know why?"

"Enlighten me." She said sarcastically.

"Because damn it, you don't love me back. That is why."

When she just stared at him open mouth, he silently begged her to contradict his statement but to his dismay she remained quiet.

Fear of being rejected by her made him hesitate but he braved himself and asked once again in a calm and cool tone "Hayley do I have a reason to react any other way?"

She still remained quiet. He released a heavy sigh and started to turn and reached the bathroom when she inquired "back? Do you mean…?" she stopped talking as she recalled him telling her that he loved his wife when she didnt know her secret was revealed.

"What do you think? Why would I react that way if I didnt feel that way about you?" He asked exasperated.

"Because your unnaturally huge ego was bruised." She taunted even though her heart was racing. _Could it be possible?_ She wondered.

"No." He started to shake his head but then paused for a moment and giving her a sheepish grin at her challenging glare "well you are right. I probably would have reacted that way for that reason too but I didnt. I reacted that way because I … " he paused and then for the first time uttered those word that he had never used for anyone else at the risk of getting rejected, abandoned by her. Dismissing everything Mikael had told him about revealing his feelings, he said "I loved you and I thought you betrayed me."

"You couldn't have loved me Klaus. You couldn't even bare to me in the same room as me especially after Hope was born." She said dismissively.

"You were not yourself when Hope was born" Klaus resorted "I thought you hated Hope and every time I saw that, it would make me angry, angry for falling for a woman who would feel that way about her own daughter. I couldn't bear to be in the same room with a person who hated someone we both had created."

"I was having post part derepression" she said in a defensive tone, her chin lifting a bit.

"And I was supposed to know about it?" He asked in a sudden raised voice "when you just closed up on me, how was I to know about that?"

"I needed you but you were not there for me. I didn't hate Hope. For goodness sake. She is my flesh and blood. How could I hate her? What I hated was that I didn't have a boy to get Hannah's custody. What I hated was that you were forced to continue that charade of a marriage because of my inability to give you a girl. It had nothing to do with Hope." She said angrily, the tears were threatening to fall now.

He studied her for a a long moment before saying, unable to keep sarcasm out of his tone "you do know that sex of the baby is determined by the contribution made by the man?"

Her cheeks flushed and he wanted to hug her. "I _know_ but I couldn't help but feel as if it was my fault. My father…"

"Don't even bring him into this." He said rather harshly and then he cursed himself realizing that she was about to cry. Everything was so different from what he had interpreted two years back.

"How was I to know Hayley? You let me believe that you married me for those five millions. You let me believe that you were gold digger. Even this time around you continued to let me believe that. When you got depressed at Hope's birth I thought you were upset about your five millions. But now I know the real reason. I wish we had a different sort of relationship and you had trusted me"

She sighed realizing that he had a point. She did let him believe the worst about her. "I wouldn't have confided in you Klaus, ever. My father. He threatened me that if I ever told anyone about Hannah he would told Jackson and made sure that the got the custody. I couldn't risk it. I had too much to lose." Her tone begging for his understanding.

"I know. I know Hayley…" he grabbed her hands, brought them to his lips and kissed them. Hayley tried to snatch them but he kept a hold on to them. He needed to tell her how much he cared for her because he needed her to return the favor. He wanted that and he had just realized that he will not get that until he bares himself naked to her. Mikael was wrong. He had to give her something to get something in return. And since this mess started with him not trusting her, the burden on righting the wrong was on more on his shoulder. There were so many confusions between them. They both were wrong about each other. This was his chance to put his heart on line. If he didnt do it now, it will be too late and already they have been missing a lot of things.

"Eden, when we got married we both were very unhappy. We both were forced into this marriage." He paused for a moment before continuing "sometime during our marriage I started to care for you."

She just looked at him listening to his confession. All the time she had thought that he hated her for putting him in this situation and he was developing something for her. How did that happen? _Perhaps just like it happened with you._ A voice replied. Knowing that Klaus would never open up to anyone like this and how much was it costing him to say all this, she remained quiet and let him continue.

Seeing her confused expressions, he ran his hand over his face and said "I dont know when that care turned to something more than that. You crept into my heart without my knowledge or permission. It was the first time someone has ever done something to me without asking my permission. I was so afraid by what you had done to me that I became a coward and couldn't express my feelings for you but now that I think back, I think I felt something for you when I saw you at that gala Ansel had in honor for Amanda charity before even we were properly introduced. You took my breath away. I just didn't want to admit it. And then I would see you with Ansel and my feelings got more and more confused and then your father ruined everything by forcing me into that marriage. He hurt my ego. Even though I did it for Ansel, I didnt feel good about myself to be used by him and you like that. Remember you let me believe that you were marrying for those bloody five millions at that time. I just couldnt believe that the person Ansel loved and for whom I was feeling a strong attraction for could be a gold-digger. Probably that is why I was so cruel to you during our marriage. For which I dont even have words to apologize. When you got pregnant, I started to see a future with you, with our child. But after Hope was born, you became more distant and then those pictures came. Seeing those pictures tore me into bits. What those photos did to me I cannot even explain to you." He closed his eyes just for a moment and then opened them and said fiercely "I dont ever want to feel that way again."

She just gaped at him, looking at things from his point of view for the first time. _Why didnt she see it before. It was so simple. All this time, she had been wrong. He reacted that way because he loved her._ She could see it now. _Maybe he would have reacted differently if he knew that she loved him too._ She cursed herself for not sharing her feeing with him.

Klaus continued "For two years I have tried to forget you but I couldnt and then I met my father's new assistant" the corner of his lips twisted into a smile "and she pushed all of my wrong buttons and for the second time in my life, someone without my permission, breaking all my restraints, managed to sneak under my skin. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the person demolishing all my barriers ruthlessly was my estranged wife."

To satisfy any lingering doubts in her mind, she said, praying that was not the case "You are just saying that because you feel guilty now Klaus."

"No."

Just hearing him say that no and giving no other explanation made her curios and she asked "just like that, you want me to believe it?"

"Yes."

Once again no explanation. For some reason she started to believe him. Maybe because that was what _she_ wanted to believe, she realized. She asked "So what you are saying is that you love me?"

"yes." He replied, flush appearing on his cheek making her want to throw herself at him, in his arms.

"Funny, isn't it? How the feelings evolved."

"What do you mean?" He asked, a confused look appeared on his face.

"You are not the only one whose feelings evolved Klaus." She replied feeling shy all of a sudden. But seeing the incredulous and confused expressions on his face helped her strangely and she voiced the words she had been holding on to for the past two years "I love you too Klaus."

His face fell."Now _that_ is a lie."

"What do you mean?" She asked in confusion while her heart fell at his response. This was not how she had envisioned it.

"How can you love me after what I put you through two years ago? And even if there were any chances of that happening I managed to destroy everything by not trusting you Eden."

"Please call me Hayley. I don't want to be called by a name that brought me nothing but trouble. I am embracing my new identity. Please."

He gave her a sad smile.

"What if I tell you that you didn't destroy anything Klaus? What if I tell you that despite all my effort of hating you I never succeeded."

"Then I will tell you that I am the luckiest man in the world."

She smiled and said "Yes Klaus despite everything I fell in love with you back when I was Eden and then again when I became Hayley. What you did for Hannah…"

"That was not for you. That is for Hannah." He said fiercely interrupting her.

And she understood what he was saying. She would have been happy if he had told her that he did it for her but this, this what he said for more special.

"When Hannah grows up one day I will tell her about Jackson but until then …"

"She is ours." He finished for her fiercely. "I will start the adoption process as soon as I can."

Suddenly she was feeling light as if all the weight had been lifted off of her shoulder. She was love. He loved her. Her children were with her. Her husband was smiling at her with love pouring out of his … well everything. She laughed as he pulled her into the circle of his arms and she let him. And he became confident. _Mikael was wrong. She will never abandon him and he didnt feel weak at all. In fact he felt stronger._ His lips pressed on his hand, his hands caressing her back, traveling down her spine "what are you thinking?"

"Thinking? I cannot think when you are doing this to me but I know that there is something that I needed to address" she moaned as his lips moved to the side of her face, traced her neck and rested at the back of her ear at that one particular spot only he knew was _the_ spot.

He chuckled and said "I will have to remember this next time when we are having an argument."

"You think we will have many of those?" She moaned as his hand grabbed her hip and squeezed it, his lips moved down to her nape, her lip bit into his shirt desperately wanting to remove the barrier between her lips and his chest.

"Of course we will have many arguments." He smiled but continued to kiss her nape, now moving to her shoulder, sliding her shirt off of her shoulder, planting feather kisses to her exposed shoulder causing her to shiver, moan in his arms. **"** You are forceful and vivacious and l love this change in you. I had started falling in love with you Eden…No, please let me talk. After today I will never address you by that name. There was something about you. I didnt want to feel that way about you but … but you made me do it even without trying and I starting to scum to this intense desire towards you. The intensity of the feelings I had for you, I really understood the day I saw those photos. What I am trying to say is that I did fell in love with you but there were so many walls between us which you and I both were not willing to break. You were so cold, so distant.. well of course except in bed." He gave her a mischievous smile and she almost choked on it, guilt settling in her heart. "And you were so scared all the time. Yes, you tried to hide it well but I could see it when you were unguarded. This new you, I just love it. I love who you have become. I hate what you had to go through to become this but I love the end result. If I had thought I loved you back then, then my love for this new you knows no bound."

"Are you crying?" he asked when she didnt say anything and he heard a sniff.

"Damn right, I am crying." She punched his shoulder playfully as he wiped her eyes and smiled down at her face. _There, here, this was his family. She, Hope, their baby and Hannah._

"I promise I will never hurt you. I will never break your trust ever again and if I see a picture of you with another naked man…."

"You will be jealous, you will shout at me but you will listen to me because you know who much I love you now and then later we both will laugh at that picture." She finished for him.

He leaned in and kissed her softy when suddenly she pushed him back. "You almost made me forget." She said angrily " _You kissed her. I saw you kissing her."_

He hastily replied as he pulled her back into his arms "And I couldnt wait to wash my lips. I am sorry but I had to respond otherwise she would have suspected."

"What if she had … would you have slept with her too?" She voiced out her worst fear.

"Of course not." He replied incredulously. "How can you even think that?"

"What were you doing in her apartment then?"

"Find out what she was planing for her and myself. Trying to make an iron clad case against her. If things had gotten to that extent I would have backed out."

"If you even think of doing it…"

"I wouldnt…." his body was aching for her so he said "It is very late, I think you should rest."

"No, what I need is you."

"But Hayley, you starts bleeding because…"

"Because what?"

"I think because I was rough." his voice was laced with regrets.

She started laughing and his cheeks flushed "no. that was not it. Bleeding, spotting which I had is pretty common in first trimester. There is no reason sex would cause that."

"I…" but she was already pulling him on top of her on the bed. Their bodies fused and she gasped "tell me you dont want me."

"Does it look like I dont want you" he pressed his hardened body against her center and she moaned with pleasure.

"Klaus please make love to me."

He stared into her love filled eyes and then covered her mouth with his lips. The kiss was not tender or soft. It was passionate, drug induced making her lose any sense of reality, her legs automatically parted as his body settled between them and her legs wrapped around his torso. His tongue parted her lips and danced wit her tongue. She moaned, her fingertips digging into his shoulders. Klaus balanced himself on his hands trying to keep his weight off of her but to his frustration she was not having that. She was pulling her more into him, tightening her legs around him. He groaned as she bit into his lips and pulled back breaking the kiss. Hayley gave him a seductive smile as he licked his own blood. "Two times in one day. Now that is a record." He muttered. He looked down and flicked open the button of her shirt exposing the swell of her breast. He continued to do that, his eyes never leaving what was being revealed. Hayley's chest was rising up and down with anticipation, the look on his eyes was wild, full of passion and she wondered if she would last all this foreplay. And then he bend down and closed his mouth fiercely to one stinging pink crest, taking it between this teeth and toying with the tender tips until her fingers were clawing at the sheet. Her already tender nipples were aching, begging for him to continue that delightful torture, heat was pooling in between her legs. She muttered frantically "take it off. Oh please take it off."

He shifted his attention to her other breast but his hand moved to the trouser she was were and flicked the button open.

Abruptly he let go of her breast leaving her cold too. She protested but then nipped her lips as he knelt ing between her legs. "No Klaus." Realizing his intentions she whimpered. She needed him right now. Looking into her yes, he sprayed own hand on his pregnant belly and bend down and Hayley arched off the bed, a moan escaping her mouth, her hand clawed his hair. She didnt know if she was pushing him or pulling him but she was going control really fast. His tongue was doing wild things to her and then she came. She came with a fierce force that shook her. He continued to ride her during her climax. When she sagged back he looked up, stared at her expressions, his own full of love and showing vulnerability that only she was privy too. He leaned in and planted a kiss to her pregnant stomach so gently as if he was kissing their child. Her heart melted, her fingers raking his hair gently as he continued to travel up trailing his lips through the valley between her breast to her mouth. While keeping eye contact he caressed her center once again teasing that sensitive nub and then he slowly invaded her keeping control on his entry. Hayley rolled her eyes knowing why he was being so gentle, she grabbed on to his hips and pulled him in with force causing him to penetrate till the hilt. Klaus gritted _"stop."_

"Either you do it or let me…" She gritted back.

He looked down into her passion filled eyes and with a smile from he bottom of his heart he extracted fully out of her and then came in with force and she moaned with pleasure. He started to thrust after extracting full out of her. Hayley was close to her climax when he said "touch yourself."

"Klaus!" she gasped but he pressed "do it for _me_. Hayley do it for _me_ " his voice was shaking with passion and with her heart overflowing with love for him she took her hand between them and touched herself. Her head fell and they both came with force that almost knocked her out.

As he pulled her in his arms when he rolled over on the bed and covered them with the sheet, she whispered "You were wrong, you know."

"What about now?" He asked caressing her exposed shoulder.

"When you said that I wouldn't have cared if I had found a picture of your with another woman."

"What would you have done?" He interested.

"I would have castrated you."

He laughed and tugged her closer. Soon they both drifted off to sleep.

When she woke up next, it was early morning and he was still holding her but awake and looking at her. She smiled at him and asked "I didn't ask you last night what will happen to Kara?"

"She is in police custody. We have solid proof that she was behind the kidnapping. They will file a case against her but she is not out of our lives if she is released. Hopefully we will be lucky and she will move on eventually. Until then the security remains."

She started to worry; it was not just her who could be in danger. Klaus, Hope, Hannah and their unborn child.

Klaus could feel tension mounting in her body, he caressed her lips with her thumb and whispered against her hair "dont worry. I am here for you. I will not let her hurt anyone."

Bracing herself for the worst she asked "Now tell me what did you do to get Hannah from my father?" It was time she knew that. She couldn't run away form it to prevent hurting herself.

When he stayed quiet, she raised herself on her elbow, looked down at him and pressed "tell me Klaus." Her heart sinking because it confirmed her suspicion that he did something he didnt want to.

"I sold my company."

Her heart sank. She didnt want this."I am sorry. I know how much you wanted Cyclone."

When he averted his eyes and started to slip off the bed, she knew something was not right. She grabbed his arm and pulled him back, turned him towards her and studied his veiled expressions and then gasped "oh no" letting go of his arm she gasped "you sold _Falcon._ "

When he didnt say anything, just stared at her, she gasped once again "why? Why would you do that?"

"What I got in return was worth it." he replied calmly feeling content with his decision. "Hannah adores me. She thinks me of some sort of a hero who rescued her from the prison she was in." He gave her a self-conscious laugh.

"But Klaus you loved your company."

 _'if you want to know someone loves you then see how they treat your children._ ' Dani's voice echoed somewhere in the periphery of her brain.

"I love you and Hannah more. I love my family more.I will build another one. Will you stand by me?" He asked keeping his tone light ignoring his fear.

"Are you serious? You still think I am gold-digger." She asked incredulously.

He shook his head, held her hand and said "no. I dont think you are gold-digger anymore. I asked you because it will be really busy time for me. I have to start my company from scratch again and you are pregnant."

"I am pregnant not sick. And what you did for me and Hannah, how can you even doubt that I will leave you."

"So this is payback?"

"No." She shouted at him. "Of course not. How can you ask that Klaus? I love you. Why do you doubt it?"

"Because the ones who should have loved me… loved you, never did." He murmured.

"They didnt deserve us." She replied as she snuggled close to him.

"We will not talk about our past ever again."

"Yes. Just future but I just have one more question Klaus."

"What?"

"I understand you doubted me when you saw those pictures. I would have done that too. Why did you doubt Elijah?"

Even in this near darkness he could see the flush receding on his cheek. He muttered "well … he is Elijah… he is popular."

She said "yes he is but I didnt love him. I loved you."

"I didnt know." He said nuzzling his lips into her neck.

She smiled and said seductively kissing his nipple

"Tell me again that you love me." He smiled at her request. Feeling confident in his feelings for her, he said "I love you."

He then said "Come I want to show you something." He said as he pulled her up.

"What?" She asked lazily marveling the love and attention he was showering on her. "Come" he said again as he walked to the bathroom, came back with her robe and helped her into it.

Five minutes later Hayley was standing in his office staring at the painting which she knew Kara had bought for him. She asked curiously "is this the same painting Kara got for you?"

"Yes she did. She knew how much I loved Giannicola di Paolo. I hope you dont want me to throw it away. I really love it."

"Of course not" she laughed and then turning towards him she said seriously "Klaus I … I think she made me miss that appointment too. There was a discrepancy in the computer log and my personal record."

He took a deep breath, held her both hands in his and said "I believe you. She really wanted me to lose my temper on you."

"I am glad she is out of our lives." Hearing anxiety in her tone he comforted her "and she will remain out" and then he turned her in the direction of the now closed door and she stopped breathing. On the wall behind the door normally hidden from the view of visitors of his study because of the door, hung a painting of her staring at the fountain, sitting on the rocking chair with her hand on her full term stomach. He wrapped his arms around her pulling her into his body while keeping her facing the painting. "This was how I kept sane these two years. Whenever I missed you I would come here and you would be right in front of me and trust me I spend a lot my days in this study."

"You build that fountain for me?" The memory of that conversation as fresh as it happened yesterday.

"Yes" he whispered against her ear.

"Why?"

"Because I wanted you to be happy and if that fountain was going to do that I was willing to do that."

Her eyes brimmed. She asked "Why didn't you tell me then?"

"Because expressing love makes you weak."

"Who said that?" She asked incredulously, slightly turning towards him.

"Mikael."

She snorted. "I am glad you dont believe that anymore."

"No" he laughed and kissed the nape of her neck.

She smiled, as she placed her hand over his arm holding her form her stomach "Lets go change. Hope and …Hannah" her voice choked up. She still couldn't believe that she was here. Gulping down her tears, feeling overwhelmed at sudden tightness of his arm around her, that feel of his soft lips on her cheek she continued "will be getting up."

He kissed her one more time and then together they walked back to their room.

Half an hour later and one more session of love making in the shower, as Klaus was putting on his shirt she said "I have got something for you."

"What is it?" She smiled.

"Give me your hand." She said.

When he presented it to her she placed an antique gold pocket watch in his hand "I know it is old style but this was my grandfather's from my mother's side. It is a family heirloom. She wanted me to give it the man I finally fall in love with."

"But your mother died before we met." He asked curiously as he looked at the pocket watch.

"Yes." She turned away from him and opened the drawer. She took out a old paper from it, stared at it for a moment and then turned back towards him and gave it to him. Klaus after looking in her eyes unfolded it.

 _'My dear Eden, if you are reading this then Ansel must have thought that you are old enough to understand what I am about to tell you. I am writing this letter to you, knowing that I'll not be able to meet you but I hope that I will. I hope that at least I get to name you. I hope that I live long enough to make sure that you are in safe hands. Safe hands… You must be wondering what am I talking about. It pains me to tell you what I am about to but I think for yourself you need to understand why I did what I did._

 _My dearest Eden, your father, he … there is one of those skeletons who thinks that family heritage can only be carried by boys, girls mount to nothing but burden so I lied to him about you. I let him believe the we were having a boy. The last time I was pregnant with a baby girl, he was so upset with me that I "accidentally" fell from the stairs and lost my baby. I wanted you to live. I wanted you to have a chance to live so I lied. For that same chance, I have set a life insurance policy in your name which your father is unaware of. Your father… He is my husband but I don't trust him. I don't want to scare you but I am afraid for you. I wish there was a way you dont have to live with him but he is your father. He has rights that no court in the world can take away. But should anything were to happen, tell Ansel. He will know what to do. I trust him with my life. You can too. You should know that your mother loved you very much, did everything she could to bring you in this world, even risking her own chances of ever raising her daughter herself which I don't regret not even for a single minute. My love, I dont want you to feel guilty about anything. If I have to do it all over again, I will, without a single thought. You will understand this when you become a mother one day. I am telling you all this so that you dont take your life for-granted. I want you to live life to fullest, enjoy on my behalf too. I am telling you all this so that you understand why it was Ansel who was aware of trust fund I have fixed for you and not your father. He helped me obtained a safety deposit box too. I am leaving some family heirlooms, jewelry and photos for you. He will be your trustee until you are old enough to get access to it. You must be wondering why I stayed with a man like your father. Eden, all I can say in my defense is that I am weak. I couldnt leave him and still cannot. No one can make me. Ansel has tried everything but I am a lost cause to him too. Despite everything Eden I love your father. Please dont think any less of me. I … I just love him, even today when I write this letter to you telling you about what he did to me and what I have done to protect you from him. Eden my beautiful baby girl, dont be weak. Love, love with your whole heart but dont let it become your weakness. I am so sorry for not being there for you when you need me._

 _While writing this letter to you in Ansel's study I feel so blessed to have a friend like him. I pray every day that I get to meet you but if I don't Eden, I am leaving something for you which was passed on to me by my father. The pocket watch among the jewels I left for you, I want you to give to the man you marry, you fall in love with whom you have your babies._

 _I love you Eden. I wish that I live long enough to see you settle in life, have kids of your own. But if I am not there, tell them about me. Tell them how I loved them even before meeting them. Tell them they were loved. Will you do that for me?_

 _With lots and lots of love. Your mother._

 _Elizabeth Emerson."_

 _He folded the letter back carefully and looked up at her. He pulled her back into his arms and she silently wept "she knew she would not survive this pregnancy Klaus. Ansel told me that but she carried me to term. She was afraid that my father would kill me or harm me. That is why she had that life insurance policy for me. She managed to name me, give me to Dani to raise, ensured my safety in anyway she could before she died. before she passed away. I…" She couldn't continue._

 _So that is how his father became the trustee of that safety deposit box. They were friends._ Now that he knew that her mother was his father's friend he needed to tell her he knew about the safety deposit box and that he was now the trustee. After the breakfast he will tell her.

"I wish I could put your father behind the bar for this… " He pulled her in a tight hug."Your father… I pity him. He didnt know what a wonderful daughter he had."

She lifted her head and asked "do you think I became weak? I let my father…"

"No." He stopped her with vehement. "You were not weak. You did it for your daughter. That kind of love, that kind of sacrifice does not make you weak."

She gave him a sad smile and continued "if I didnt have Dani, I dont know what I would have done."

"Then I am grateful to her. One day you will tell me about your childhood." With heart filled with love for her, he said.

"One day." She promised him and then thinking about Dani she opened her mouth to say "Klaus I want to talk to you about something. Its about Dani."

"Right. Lets go down for breakfast. We can talk there and also I have a surprise for you."

"What?" She asked getting agitated. "Do you know that I hate surprises."

He laughed at finally able to openly acknowledge the qualities he adored about his wife "of course I know and hence…"

"What is it?" She demanded and followed him out of the room.

"Good morning Hannah." Klaus said as Hannah came out of her room and gave him a shy smile. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes Mr…. Klaus…"

"Let's go have breakfast." he said ignoring Hayley growl "Klaus…"

When she reached at the bottom step she stopped as she gaped at Dani standing there holding Hope. "Princess." She smiled, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

Hayley felt her throat starting to tighten and her eyes stinging. Her gaze went to Klaus who had now taken Hope from Dani and after giving her a wink had led Hannah to the dining room.

She walked to Hayley and said "you have got a wonderful man for yourself who loves you and your children. I am so happy for you."

Hayley blinked back her tears and said, grabbing her both hands "yes I know."

When she walked into the dining room, Hannah was picking up the sippy cup Hope had dropped on the carpet while Klaus was drinking his coffee looking at them. She strolled across the room to him, linked her arms around his neck and whispered against his ear "you know you are becoming my favorite person very fast."

He smiled up at her while his heart was overwhelmed by emotions he was never privy to.

* * *

 **Eight weeks later:**

Looking at her struggling with her jeans button, finally giving up in frustration, he said, keeping a his amusement to minimum in fear of her volatile mode these days "You have been up all night with Hope and then on your feet all day. You should now rest before kids are back from the park and admit that it is time to shift to maternity jeans."

She stormed towards the bed still wearing those unbuttoned jeans, fell on it and said moodily "resting alone is boring. Since you are that reason I don't fit int my favorite jeans you should entertain me while I am bored."

"Gladly" he smiled and fell on the bed too, settling her in-between his legs while she turned on the tv and flipped through the channels and he grabbed a book from his side table.

After a while she asked "What do you think we are having this time?"

"I dont care." he said, spraying his hand possessively on her still flat stomach, his fingers slipping down since her jeans were unbuttoned.

"Hmm" she said contentedly, nuzzling into his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"All though Hope's pregnancy I had prayed that we have a girl despite your continuous belief that you were having a boy. I knew you would be hurt but I was willing to take that chance if having a girl meant that we could prolong our marriage. I threatened you once that after the baby is born you could go. I didnt want you to go. Do you have any idea how happy I was when I reached that hospital and found out that we had a baby girl, that flight from New York was the longest flight for me, Hayley. I kept praying for it to be a girl. In the hospital I know now that you thought that I was upset because you thought I was bound to you because of the girl but no, I was upset because I thought you were upset for having a girl which I know now was not the case."

When she nodded he bend down and kissed her. His heart breaking for her. So many heartaches. So many secrets.

Hayley took the book from his hand, threw it aside and then pushed him back on the bed as she straddled him. "I thought we were resting." He smiled as she unbuttoned his jeans and dragged it down his lean hips.

"And I thought you were entertaining me." She replied mischievously and bend her head down until her lips were on him. He groaned and grabbed her head, his fingers digging into her scalp.

Next afternoon they both stared at the ultra-sound and smiled as they saw the baby kick its tiny legs and arms haphazardly. Hayley gasped when as they watched it turned over and the doctor smile as she moved the transducer on her bare stomach. "You will have your hands full with this one. Everything looks wonderful. The baby is growing beautifully. Ummm do you want to know the sex of the baby?

She looked at Klaus who squeezed her hand and said "sure."

"Congratulations, it is a boy."

"Oh" Hayley said with a sob and he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.

While heading towards their car, she asked "do you regret it?"

"Regret what?" He asked as he grabbed her hand and caressed it.

"Regret that you didnt wait to find out about the sex of the baby?"

"No" He said with vehement, as he stopped in his track, his tone laced with hurt and matched the incredulous expressions "not even for a single moment. Dont even think about it."

"I am sorry" regretting even bringing that up but she had to know. She couldn't live with this guilt that he gave up everything he worked for for her daughter.

"I love Hannah. I would do anything for you, her, Hope and this child" he said. "I wouldn't exchange any number of Falcons for what I have."

He said fiercely.

Hayley smiled, tipped up and kissed him. "I love you."

"I love you too." He said and they continued their short walk to their car.

On the way to home, she glanced at him with a smile and looked down at their interlocked hands resting on his muscular thigh. As she studied his profile, he turned towards her with a smile and asked "You wanted to drink something at the hospital, still want it?"

"No. Not thirsty any more. You?"

"No." He smiled as he pulled the car on the road.

Later in the evening while lounging in the garden, reading a book, he looked up and a smile spread on his lips, love overwhelmed his heart as he watched Hannah running around Hope indulgently giving her a leeway while she was shrieking happily at the top of her lungs, Hayley curled up in the lounger reading a magazine. Dani sitting under the tree talking with Mia while keeping eyes on the kids. He smiled contently when Hannah finally tagged Hope and said "your turn" and his two and half year daughter said sassily "I no want to play" only to be told by Hannah's annoyed tone "you keep that up and I will never play with you again." His gaze shifted to Hayley… Eden. Her eyes were closed now, the magazine on her chest, a smile on her lips, a protective hand on her stomach- she had fallen asleep. This was his family; the family which he had craved for all this life, for whom he would do anything, whose unconditional love has restored his faith in love. He got up, picked up the discarded light summer throw from the foot of the lounger and spread it over her.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Finally coming to an end. I think this was the longest I took to write a story but I think it turned out alright. Hope you liked it too. Thank you so much for reading it and for leaving such wonderful and encouraging reviews. Special thanks to all my dedicated fans. If it were not for you I wouldnt have found my muse._**


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